Closer to 1930's Germany.
Darryl
From Sam Smith's review:
*Military attempting major censorship at colleges
<http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/01/25-5> *
*Stephen Zunes, Common Dreams *- According to a memo sent to ROTC
programs at the University of San Francisco and other colleges and
universities last month, they have effectively been prohibited from
completing any assignments that professors may make involving any
material released through WikiLeaks.
According to a Dec. 8 memo from Col. Charles M. Evans, commanding
officer of the 8th Brigade, U.S. Army Cadet Command, "using the
classified information found on WikiLeaks for research papers,
presentations, etc. is prohibited." A follow-up memo from the cadet
commander at the University of San Francisco advised against even
talking about it, precluding ROTC students from taking part in classroom
discussions regarding WikiLeaks material.
It strains credulity as to what harm would be caused by cadets viewing
material easily accessible to everyone else, including America's enemies.
Whatever the reason, this puts both professors and students in a dilemma.
Those of us teaching courses in such fields as constitutional law, U.S.
foreign policy, Middle Eastern politics and media studies are
considering using WikiLeaks material in the coming semester. This means
that if any of us were to give such an assignment, ROTC students would
be forced to choose between not completing it or putting their careers
in jeopardy.
I could make special accommodations for ROTC cadets. I could offer an
alternative reading assignment. I could not reduce participation grades
if the students did not take part in a discussion. I could excuse them
from viewing a documentary that might include film clips, images or
other proscribed contents. I could write up special quizzes or exams.
However, in doing so, I would effectively be allowing the military to
control part of my curriculum. This raises sensitive issues regarding
academic freedom. If the military can effectively tell its cadets to
refuse to complete assignments by civilian professors, it sets a very
dangerous precedent.
Indeed, if they can prohibit ROTC cadets from reading material from
WikiLeaks, what would stop them from prohibiting students from, for
example, reading material critical of U.S. military actions in Iraq or
Vietnam?
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