From Deseret News archives:
U. policy raises concerns
Numerous demands for opting out of classwork on religious grounds could destroy the university as a place where people deal with difficult works of art, texts or news stories, said Ron Mallon, an assistant philosophy professor.
"The possibility is that people, rather than bringing their particular points of view with them to the university and interacting with others in a way that everyone benefits, they bring with them their particular points of view and use this to protect themselves from the university as a genuinely public place where people interact with one another in these traditions that are sometimes provocative and inflammatory, sometimes instructive and challenging," he said.
In settling former student Christina Axson-Flynn's lawsuit alleging anti-Mormon bias, the U. must adopt a policy allowing students to request withdrawal from academic activities based on "sincere" religious beliefs. The decision to approve or deny a student's request initially rests with professors, with deans and ultimately a senior vice president considering appeals.
A committee composed of faculty, students and an at-large representative will flesh out and implement the policy over the next year to 18 months.
Mallon said a compromise on this issue was needed. But "you just don't want to continuously compromise until it undermines the whole project of public education."
U. student Kent Blake said it is good for the university to have a defined policy. But he hopes it doesn't cause professors to alter their teaching.
"Initially, I wouldn't imagine that would happen," the senior French major said. "An important part of a college education is being exposed to different views that aren't necessarily your own. . . . It would be a sad thing if that did happen over time."
Law professor Wayne McCormack said the policy establishes a process that will make everyone more comfortable.
"It's just a way of giving notice of a particular religious belief, then you decide whether it can be accommodated or not. If it cannot, then I would assume the student goes and takes a different course," he said.
College professors, including Mallon, who lets students know up front that films in his introductory philosophy class will be R-rated, already tailor the curriculum to the audience.
"We all self-edit as we think appropriate for the course," McCormack said. "That's just common sense."
The American Association of University Professors, based in Washington, D.C., doesn't believe a religious accommodation policy at the U. will infringe on academic freedom.
"In general, I don't see that this per se should send any kind of chill because it's (already) illegal to discriminate on the basis of religion," said Anita Levy, associate secretary of AAUP Department of Academic Freedom and Tenure. Levy reviewed the settlement agreement at the request of the Deseret Morning News.
The AAUP, though, finds some aspects of the agreement troubling, particularly that professors don't have greater say in determining the policy.
"We would liked to have seen the faculty primarily involved in decisions regarding curriculum," she said.
Levy lauded the policy's appeals process but said the final arbiter ought to be a faculty body, such as the academic senate, rather than than an administrator.
E-mail: romboy@desnews.com
