Survey on ‘intellectual freedom’ is intellectually deficient

This month, college faculty throughout Florida received surveys that encourage them to report whether they believe their schools are hotbeds of political indoctrination.

If some professor somewhere feels she’s not allowed to freely espouse her political beliefs and is being denied tenure because of it, Florida lawmakers say they want to know.

Critics, including the state’s main faculty union, have objected, claiming the survey is an infringement on their First Amendment rights.

I think they’re wrong. It’s an anonymous survey. And frankly,

I grow weary of people claiming everything they dislike is unconstitutional.

This survey isn’t a bad idea because it’s unconstitutional.

It’s a bad idea because it’s a steaming pile of fear-mongering, culture-war-stoking, scientifically unreliable garbage.

And how do I know this is a garbage survey that will produce garbage results?

Because I had the ability to fill out the survey and pretend I was a non-tenured engineering faculty member with conservative views who felt like I’d be denied tenure because of all the mean and powerful liberals on campus.

And guess what? I’m not. Now, for the record, I didn’t actually submit the survey that way. But when I realized I could, I contacted the state university system to ask whether anyone on God’s great green earth could really fill it out, lie about their position and experiences and that those totally bogus responses would be included in the official report.

Yes, came the response. A spokeswoman said the survey had to be free of accuracy checks “to ensure the survey responses are both anonymous and voluntary.”

I respect the motive. But no serious person can respect whatever results arise from this exercise in political theater.

Any group with an agenda — liberal or conservative — can encourage anyone else to fill out bogus surveys, producing bogus results which will then be used as political props by bogus politicians.

The reality is that this is just another round of taxpayer-funded culture wars. Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican legislators have claimed universities are hotbeds of liberalism, brainwashing young adults.

Yet let’s look at some of the headlines over the past couple years:

“DeSantis mega-donor, UF Board of Trustees chair supplied Ladapo’s resume, fast-tracking surgeon general’s hire”

“A University of Florida committee finds irregularities in the hiring of Surgeon General

Joseph Ladapo”

“University of Florida bars professors from testifying in voting rights lawsuit”

“Republican lawmakers weaponize the University of Florida”

If the folks who run UF are all closeted liberals trying to spread their ideology, they’re doing a pretty cruddy job of it.

It’s been said that, with some people, every accusation is actually a confession.

I want schools, both primary and secondary, to be bastions of free thought that expose students to various ideologies and challenge their thinking.

And I’m fascinated by politicians — and parents — who want otherwise. Especially the parents terrified of their children being exposed to any ideas different from the ones Mom and Dad hold dear.

I remember my son having an opinionated liberal teacher in middle school and an opinionated conservative teacher in high school. Neither one freaked me out or sent me running to the school board demanding the teachers be silenced or fired. I just encouraged my kids to take in all viewpoints, ask me if they had any questions and try to learn to think for themselves.

That seems to be what some of these parents truly fear — that their kids will develop their own critical thinking skills and grow up to figure out that not every ideology Mom or Dad has been peddling is logically sound.

Regardless, we have this bizarre movement of angry Floridians trying to ban one discussion topic or another … and then claiming they support freedom.

The state’s survey has been theoretically sent to both faculty and students with different sets of questions. (Though, again, anyone can fill it out and lie about what they’ve experienced.)

And critics, including the United Faculty of Florida, asked a federal judge to stop them from being circulated, claiming the surveys violated their free speech rights.

I think U.S. District Judge Mark Walker got it right when he refused to do so. The survey may be histrionic fear-mongering masquerading as legitimate research. But it’s not unconstitutional.

It’s worth noting that Walker is the same judge whom DeSantis and GOP legislators have claimed is a biased liberal hack when he ruled against them in other cases. Funny how those accusations disappear when the rulings go their way.

Really, this whole stunt is just another attempt to gaslight constituents and distract Floridians from the real issues facing Florida — like the mounting property insurance crisis that legislators must now deal with in a special session (on your dime) because they ignored it this past session when they focused on similar culture-war claptrap.

Universities should be full of spirited, honest debate based on reliable data and facts — basically everything this survey is not.