Conservatism onslaught: teach the liberal out of them
Editorial

Filtering individuality and expressionism from its students, conservative UH-Clear Lake still finds itself imposing constraints upon those who stand to gain most from an advanced educational institution.

Surrounded by a community that preaches liberalism is a flaw, conservatism is well-being and anywhere in between is not acceptable, college students at UH-Clear Lake, as well as the college itself, are products of the system. And in this case, the students at conservative UH-Clear Lake are constrained - constrained in thought, stifled in creativity and exposed only to those things that are good for the "well-being" of the college.

To put it in perspective, creativity and individuality are allowed only as long as the system is not challenged.

If there is disagreement, ask the liberal-minded UH-Clear Lake staff - that is if anyone can find them, because in reality there is a shortage at the college. But when found, ask them if they can truly run their programs as they would like. And, they will answer no, as several who were asked responded the same.

Perhaps it is not the college itself that is conservative, but rather the students. If a comparison is made between the University of Texas at Austin and UH-Clear Lake, it holds true that college students at UT-Austin seem to share more liberal views. But at the same time, UT-Austin permits the liberal education and growth of its students. Something which UH-Clear Lake does not seem to exert.

On the UH-Clear Lake campus, many students have expressed their fear of challenging the faculty in class discussion and course work. Rather than expressing their personal views, students said they would rather regurgitate information imposed upon them in order to avoid a bad grade. Many a time, UT-Austin students have openly protested to dispute matters such as grades and to assert their personal viewpoints. Unlike UT-Austin, UH-Clear Lake would never have students protesting because the students are apathetic and afraid of what others might say - especially UH-Clear Lake staff.

Recently, the University of Texas' Student Endowment Centennial Lectureship announced feminist Gloria Steinem, writer of the forward to the Vagina Monologues and former Playboy bunny, to be the Centennial Fellow for 2002. Would you ever hear of someone like Gloria Steinem coming to UH-Clear Lake to guest lecture? The answer once again, is more than likely no. The last time someone such as Steinem came to UH-Clear Lake, a faculty member was fired for bringing her here.

In the UH-Clear Lake Student Life Policies Handbook, it states "Students are encouraged to participate in this process [of self-government and self-discipline] and through recognized student organizations, the student newspaper, and appropriate investigations, questioning, discussion, and criticism." What the university failed to address though, was the important fact that this idea is based upon the UH-Clear Lake shared governance process. An unbalanced conservative theory in which the university provides an array of organizations comprised of multiple faculty, staff and one student.

Institutions change the students - the students do not change the structure of the institution. An atmosphere of containment has the ability to oppress thoughts, beliefs and the growth of those under and within the institution.

Arguably there are UH-Clear Lake students who are happy with the college's conservative stance and have no reason to examine the system. Many students have said they are either ready to graduate and do not want to make waves, do not care about expressing themselves, or grew up in a conservative atmosphere and believe that variations from the norm are unacceptable. Truthfully, this is not a bad thing.

But those UH-Clear Lake students challenging the system through thought and deed, while trying to expand their self-awareness, find themselves with hands tied behind their backs. Students' use of creativity and expression of individuality through course work seem to be subject to lower grades - ultimately lending the students a warning for varying outside of the norm.

Conservative UH-Clear Lake is a qualified and valuable institution. It contains vast resources of knowledge, which are conveyed to its students through numerous faculty members. If the intent of an institution is to enhance the lives of its paying customers, at least allow the students and faculty free will to choose dynamic interaction over static dictation.