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Protect Academic Freedom
The Senate is considering a bill that threatens to put academic freedom in danger.

The bill would create a seven-person International Education Advisory Board, appointed by members of Congress, which would have oversight over the content of course materials and even the hiring of faculty in international area studies and foreign language programs. The purpose of the board is to stifle and censor legitimate criticism of US foreign policy in America's universities.

America's true national security interests will be served by an informed public that can access information from an academia free of government censorship.

Write your senator today and urge them to oppose the creation of the International Education Advisory Board.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Protect Academic Freedom
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
I urge you to oppose the creation of a seven-person International Education Advisory Board in any Higher Education Reauthorization Bill.
A healthy democracy is dependent upon the free exchange of ideas. This board would stifle legitimate criticism of US foreign policy. It would punish professors who have viewpoints different than those of the government.
Our country's democracy depends on a freeflow of ideas, on open access to information. This bill would criminalize the open market of ideas in our nation's universities.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
February 03, 2004

Background Information

Last year the House of Representatives passed HR 3077, the International Studies in Higher Education Act of 2003. The bill provides for government funding for international area studies and foreign language programs, known as Title VI; however, the bill also contains a troubling provision regarding academic freedom. If agreed to by the Senate, this bill would create a seven-person International Education Advisory Board. Two members would be selected by the Speaker of the House upon recommendation of the Majority and Minority Leaders, two by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate upon the recommendation of the Majority and Minority Leaders, and three by the Secretary of Education. Two of those appointed by the Secretary of education must represent federal agencies with national security responsibilities Advocates of the bill proposed that the advisory board would have oversight of curricula, course materials, and even the hiring of faculty at institutions that accept federal government money for international studies.

This bill is being supported by conservative think tanks like the Hoover Institution and self-appointed campus watchdog groups like Daniel Pipes’ Campus Watch. Their support for an International Education Advisory Board is prompted by a belief that "Title VI-funded programs in Middle Eastern Studies (and other area studies) tend to purvey extreme and one-sided criticisms of American foreign policy," according to Hoover Institution fellow Stanley Kurtz. Opponents of the advisory board fear that it would function to stifle legitimate debate on US foreign policy toward the Middle East in general and Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine in particular.

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions is expected to consolidate HR 3077 and other bills into a larger Education Reauthorization Bill and take action on it shortly.

For more background information , see "Behind the Battles Over US Middle East Studies," by Zachary Lockman: http://www.merip.org/mero/interventions/lockman_interv.html