The Elephant in the Room
Chris Hoff
Humboldt County is known to embrace diverse people and diverse ideas. In the idealized image of Humboldt, everyone can express themselves. However, some students and community members feel that openness is only accepted within a certain range--the community doesn’t allow many ideas that are unpopular. Many conservatives and Republicans feel intimidated speaking out in the strong, liberal political climate. Their voices often remain silent and they participate less in the discussion.
Jerry Partain, a retired teacher and conservative who taught in the Humboldt State University forestry department for 30 years, experienced the hardship of being a Republican in Humboldt County when running for a seat in the State Assembly in 1982. Local Republicans believed the race wasn’t winnable; therefore, little cash was donated to Partain. He said the Democratic Party was able to draw funding from sources outside of the county, such as the San Francisco Bay Area. Locally, the teachers union denied Partain’s request to address the teachers about his campaign.
In addition to the lack of funding he expressed frustration at the lack of support from the national Republican Party.
Partain said conservative values embrace small government, fiscal responsibility and less government regulation. Howeer, believes these ideas put him at odds with President Bush and Governor Schwarzenegger.
Humboldt County Republican Party Treasurer, Joe Bonino, agreed that the local party lacks organization and does not have as strong a presence as the Democratic or Green parties in the area. But the Republicans do have voters in the county, as evidenced by Schwarzenegger winning the majority of the vote in the election. The political left has a larger pool of leadership capital, both on and off campus. This makes liberal ideas the strongest voices in Humboldt politics, meaning they get the most attention.
Bonino said these strong voices create a misconception about the state of politics at Humboldt State. He said, “The number of activists on the HSU campus is a much smaller proportion of the enrolled student body than the activists would like the community to believe. During thoughtful round table discussions with invited conservative speakers on campus, a surprising number of HSU students will allow their conservatism to show.” On-campus evidence suggests that students don’t always feel like they can express their ideas freely. Professor Erick Eschker, chair of the economics department, said teachers sense that some students hold back because of the liberal political culture on campus and in classrooms.
An example is an open discussion held after the Sept. 11 attacks. It was only after a teacher expressed his conservative opinions that some students opened up with similar thoughts and concerns.
Eschker is the former staff advisor for a Republican student group, now an inactive club. He explained that he leaned to the left of the political norm where he came from, but he feels he leans to the right on the Humboldt political scene. “I have talked to a handful of students over the years who were uncomfortable participating in classroom discussions due to their conservative political views. This is not right. A university must be a place where people with different ideas can have active debate and discussion.”
Eschker said students were irritated when they feel their ideas were dismissed in class discussions. Eschker described about a number of tactics he uses to promote balance in classroom dialogue. In his own class, he takes a stand to challenge the majority views. Although he actively works to encourage students to raise their hands and participate, a more effective method is to call people into the discussion randomly. He said at times a group of like-minded students dominate the conversation, which discourages involvement of other students in the class.
Teachers like Eschker understand that they can’t know every student’s beliefs. That is why he focuses on teaching in a way that doesn’t belittle diverse ideas and opinions. Some professors are not as careful about how they express themselves. Caitlyn Newkirk, a kinesiology major who graduated in May, told of her experience in a chemistry class. Newkirk is a Christian believer of Creationism, or Intelligent Design. In her class, a teacher told the students that anyone who held these beliefs was stupid. The situation made Newkirk feel uncomfortable.PAGE 1 - 2
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Humboldt State University- Arcata, CA 95521