Conservative activists are taking action to address what they perceive as the corruption of colleges by liberal and left-leaning academics. They are launching a venture to eliminate bias from public schools across the country. David Horowitz, the author and organizer of a conference held on April 7, believes this movement has the potential to become a large grassroots campaign. The conference was hosted by Students for Academic Freedom, a division of the Center for the Study of Popular Culture, which promotes conservative views among students and the public. Horowitz, president of the center, stated that the long-term goal of the attendees is to prevent ideological agendas from infiltrating K-12 schools.

While Horowitz acknowledges that the effort aims to combat both liberal and conservative bias in education, many speakers at the conference expressed particular concerns about the influence of left-leaning administrators and teachers. Several college students shared their experiences of professors, campus administrators, and previous high school teachers promoting liberal positions and suppressing conservative views. One student, Sean Allen, received an award at the event for recording critical comments made by his teacher about President Bush in a geography class. This incident gained national attention earlier in the year.

Horowitz emphasized that public schools, unlike private colleges, have a responsibility to present lessons impartially as they are financed by taxpayers. He predicted that public outrage over political bias in classrooms will continue to rise. Therefore, school officials need to familiarize themselves with the principles of academic freedom out of self-interest, according to Horowitz.

Students for Academic Freedom plans to encourage state legislators to introduce measures that ensure objectivity in classroom lessons. Bradley Shipp, the organization’s national field director, defended these proposals against potential criticism that they restrict speech. He explained that their aim is to raise public awareness of potential bias through nonbinding resolutions. State Representative Samuel E. Rohrer, a Republican from Pennsylvania, attended the conference and intends to hold hearings later in the year on political leanings in K-12 schools.

Horowitz also claimed that there is evident political bias in recent large-scale protests against proposals aimed at curbing illegal immigration. He argued that some teachers and administrators have tolerated and even encouraged these student-led events. Horowitz, who has transitioned from a radical leftist to a political conservative, frequently speaks on television and campuses about his crusade against intolerance in academia, as depicted in his book "Uncivil Wars."

While some believe that the left is attempting to influence public schools, others suggest that recent evidence points to a push by right-leaning individuals instead.

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