<p>Has anyone seen this film yet? It's about how at most universities there is little exchange of ideas unless they are certain kinds of ideas. I just came across a link for the trailer. It would be really bad if colleges were no longer open-minded envronments.</p>
<p>Which schools have truly open environments with a free exchange of ideas? Where is it OK to question the typical university liberal status quo (and still be safe academically)?</p>
<p>The majority of the reviews suggest a very specific political bias.</p>
<p>I think that the question of whether there's an openness to ideas depends on what you want to say. If you walk into an evolutionary biology class and demand that they teach creationism, then I believe that you deserve whatever grade you get (be it good or bad.) "Free exchange of ideas" is not carte blanche to teach comfortable untruths, no matter who they will save from offense.</p>
<p>Now, on the flip side, I do believe that you do get crusaders of one-sided thought on campuses. This is unfortunate. However, many of my friends at UCLA and here at UCSD are quite conservative and they get along quite well.</p>
<p>I mean, if you walk into a class on Marxist theory and expect it to be all about just bashing Marxist theory's failings, then you're going to have trouble. "Free exchange of ideas" works both ways, and it seems to me that people on both sides of the aisle have yet to figure that out...</p>
<p>In my experience, the number of professors who would ever hold a student's ideas against them is extremely low. That practice is unprofessional, unacceptable and rare.</p>
<p>However, it is the job of an educator to question beliefs. As Socrates said, "An unexamined life is not worth living." That sometimes means that students encounter intellectual tension when their pre-existing views are examined in the light of competing arguments and tensions. That should not be surprising; after all, look at what happened to Socrates? (He had to drink poison.) </p>
<p>What should happen in the classroom is that diverse ideas are presented and challenged. A good professor sets the stage for open, civil debate early in the semester and maintains a respectful classroom climate.</p>