As Red As Overripe Tomatoes
Reported by Eleanor - June 22, 2004 -
On Fox News (June 21, 12:40 am ET), the topic of the "fair and balanced" discussion was whether or not college professors are pushing their overwhelmingly liberal bias onto their students in the classroom. This story is another Fox exclusive.
A young UCLA graduate, Ben Shapiro, author of "Brainwashed," stated that professors are "as red as overripe tomatoes." He claimed that a large minority of professors are communists. Also, Shapiro stated that the vast majority of professors are liberal and "80% voted for Al Gore in 2000." When asked by Fox if professors aren't trying to teach "critical thinking," Shapiro responds,"No, but I am an ultra-conservative, and the threat is directed at apathetic students." Jonathan Knight, a UCLA professor, stated that Shapiro's conclusion that professors of humanities have a more liberal bias is mostly wrong, and the evidence for that conclusion is "sorely missing." Knight also pointed out that "4 years of college are nothing compared to the 18 years with parents. The influence of professors is small."
At this point the discussion was cut short by the breaking news that the Korean hostage had been beheaded.
Comment: This story was a Fox opportunity to promote a book by an ultra-conservative young man, and to slam the left-leaning intelligentsia of this country. It will be interesting to see if Mr. Shapiro makes the rounds of the other networks, or if this issue remains a Fox exclusive.
