Michigan's GOPer legislature shows universities who's boss - Brian Dickerson, DFP columnist

Brian Dickerson: GOP shows universities who's boss
June 7, 2012 | Comments
Brian Dickerson


"The purpose of a college education," one of my favorite professors liked to declare at the beginning of each semester, "is to introduce you to your betters." He believed that humility is the foundation of all learning -- which may explain why the Republicans who control the Michigan Legislature are so suspicious of learning in general and college professors in particular.

You don't get elected to public office by conceding that other people are smarter than you are. And you don't stay in office by suggesting that the future of the state depends on attracting more people with skills and degrees that most of your constituents lack -- especially if you never got around to graduating from college yourself.


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On the other hand, there are financial penalties for a wide range of policies -- health benefits for same-sex couples, health insurance mandates for students, affiliation with pro-labor causes, potentially lifesaving stem-cell research -- that offend the sensibilities of various GOP constituencies. All this from a party that purportedly seeks to shrink the sphere of government regulation.

If the purpose of a university is to introduce students to their betters, it seems, the purpose of a state Legislature is to remind all those snooty professors who's calling the shots.

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http://www.freep.com/article/20120607/COL04/206070468/Brian-Dickerson-GOP-shows-universities-who-s-boss