Graphic by:Lindsey Swanson/The LanternJust 39 percent of OSU-Columbus students reported that they had political discussions in the classroom one or more times a week, while 54 percent of students in the rest of the state said the same, according to a poll taken during the election season by CBS News, the Chronicle for Higher Education and UWIRE.
Thirty-one percent of students at OSU-Columbus said they rarely experienced political discussion in the classroom.
Vice-Provost Carole Anderson said there are two reasons that could explain the results. The first stems from an Oct. 27 memo sent by Provost Joseph Alutto to deans and faculty at all OSU campuses.
“The memo was a reminder to all faculty not to use the classroom as a means of politicking,” Anderson said.
In the memo, Alutto said encouraging students to register to vote should be done in a non-partisan manner. The memo reminded faculty that their registration efforts should not “favor one candidate or party over another, or oppose a candidate or party in some manner.”
Alutto wanted to keep political discussion fair and unbiased during the election season, said Dick Stoddard, associate vice president for Government Relations.
“He wanted to make sure the playing field stayed level because there was so much [political] activity going on,” Stoddard said.
Another explanation for the low level of political discussion comes from a stipulation in the faculty rulebook, Anderson said.
The rulebook states that teachers have the freedom to “discuss in classrooms any material that is relevant to the subject matter as defined by the course syllabus,” and that teachers must “refrain from persistently introducing matters that have no bearing on the subject matter of the course.”
Stoddard said the relatively low level of political discussion could be a result of the high level of out-of-the-classroom political activity.
“Other campuses needed to use the classroom as a means to spark more excitement,” Stoddard said. “There was already intense activity here.”
He said because OSU-Columbus was a focus for many political campaigns in Ohio, there was a myriad of opportunities readily available for students to become involved.
“Students were talking about politics on every corner,” Stoddard said. “There was no need to discuss them in the classroom as well.”
Michelle Sullivan can be reached at [email protected].
