Students on campuses across North Carolina will soon take their final exams. Some have already started. Those exams are supposed measure what a student has learned in the course, although they may do little more than increase the profits of stores that sell caffeine all night.
So if we were to take a final examination of what we learned this academic year, how would we do? What have we learned from the events that transpired since mid-August when students traded in their sun block and golf clubs for textbooks and book bags? Certainly there have been enough significant events in higher education to make us think about academe in both positive and negative lights. Reviewing for an end-of-year exam, what should we cover?
One topic would be the tensions between religion and free speech that led to conflict on campuses in North Carolina. In September, Daily Tar Heel columnist Jillian Bandes wrote a column about the Sept. 11 anniversary in which she stated about Arabs that she wished they would be “stripped naked and cavity searched if they get within 100 yards of an airport.” She was fired for her column, which sparked a national controversy.
In February, the Daily Tar Heel, and other campus newspapers across the country, published cartoons that depicted the Prophet Mohammad – leader of the Islamic faith – in a negative light. Many newspapers published cartoons that first appeared in Denmark while some, like The Daily Tar Heel, published their own original work. That led to an outcry from Muslim students, especially those associated with Muslim Students Associations, calling the acts blasphemous in the Islamic faith and denouncing the cartoons as offensive. Others argued that regardless of offense, editors had a right to run the articles. Two student editors at the University of Illinois were terminated in efforts to appease the protesters.
Of course, one cannot mention the cartoon controversy without mentioning the March 3 terrorist attack on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill. Mohammad Reza Taheri-azar, a 22-year-old Iranian native who graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in December, took his rented Jeep Cherokee from a local car dealership and attacked students at the popular gathering place on campus, “The Pit.” Using his car as a battering ram, Taheri-azar, hit injured nine people, and later laughed in court about the incident. He claimed in a 911 call that he was attempting to punish the American government with his attack. UNC-Chapel Hill leaders refused to call the attack a terrorist attack, saying that it was an isolated hit-and-run incident.
Regarding freedom of the press, one would also expect to see a question on the final exam about student rights on campus. In January, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) along with the Pope Center released a report that examined First Amendment issues within the University of North Carolina. The report found that 13 of the 16 institutions “have at least one policy that both clearly and substantially restricts freedom of speech.” In the months that followed the release, two schools overturned policies that limited free speech on campus. UNC-Greensboro in March removed restrictions on where students can speak freely, ending its “free speech zone” policy. Also in March, following a request by a student after reading the report, Appalachian State’s Department of Housing and Residence Life eliminated a policy that said, “[h]arassment or the use of abusive language, insults, taunts, or challenges director toward another person are prohibited.”
The final would also have to ask about the importance that Erskine Bowles’ hiring and inauguration has had on the University of North Carolina system. Bowles was named in September to replace retiring president Molly Broad. It was an announcement that had long been expected, even though UNC leaders went through a summer-long process that involved hiring an outside consultant to search for candidates. Since coming on board, Bowles has shown interest in making substantive improvements in the UNC system and has received widespread applause for his businesslike approach.
Lastly, this exam would include a section on the Commission on the Future of Higher Education, appointed last year by Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. The Commission is attempting to look at higher education in America and come up with “solutions” to improve policies currently in place. The Commissioners have released several hard-hitting papers that have examined such issues as college costs and accreditation. It is expected that a final report will be released in August.
So there you have it – the academic year 2005-06 final exam. Obviously, it doesn’t cover all of the year’s big events, but enough to show some important themes. This was a transitional year by most accounts. A year that saw UNC move into a new administration and the federal government begin to examine higher education – though the results of that process will not be known for a few months — but also one that saw tensions among some students rise to new levels.
Come back this time next year for the 2006-07 final exam.