Issue date: 11/10/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Sunny Wang Professor Maryann Gallagher lectures in an American National Government class Monday afternoon in Julian Mathematics and Science Center, Room 152. Gallagher said she aims to be non-partisan in class.

Sophomore Sam Spahn remembers engaging in a class discussion where a professor began criticizing a specific party for slandering the other party during an election. The students in his class, however, instantly challenged the professor in defense of both parties.

"That professor immediately backed down, and actually, I believe she was kind of scared because her mouth got her in trouble," Spahn said.

Spahn, who is president of College Republicans, said he is firm in his political beliefs. However, he said he expects that professors keep their own political bias out of their lectures and class discussions.

Spahn said he thinks the political beliefs of faculty dramatically influence the classroom because it affects the way students understand the material.

"If you see a teacher come out and say what political opinion they are in a political class, it kind of hits you a little bit, and it's just natural, in my opinion, to see them in a different light," Spahn said.

Like Spahn, junior David Dietz, president of College Democrats, said he believes that political leaning should not affect the way information in the classroom is presented. However, Dietz said he does not think this is a problem at DePauw.

"I do not think ever - a single time, - that a professor has used their political opinion or persuasion to push the discussion in a certain direction or refute someone else's ideas or anything," Dietz said.

He also said he has had some uncomfortable situations discussing politics with students in the classroom, but that they have been the best discussions for challenging the students' beliefs.

"I have definitely been in some heated classroom conversations, but it is never personal. That's the thing - it's always about the ideas," Dietz said.

Political science professor Maryann Gallagher said she tries to keep her own political opinions out of the classroom.

Continued...

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