A bill banning political discrimination in Tennessee’s universities will take effect on July 1.
SB 0178 will officially become law over the upcoming weekend.
The summary of that bill says the following:
A student or employee of an institution must not be penalized, discriminated against, or receive adverse treatment due to their refusal to support, believe, endorse, embrace, confess, act upon, or otherwise assent to a divisive concept; and
A student or employee of an institution must not be required to endorse a specific ideology or political viewpoint to be eligible for hiring, tenure, promotion, or graduation, and institutions must not ask the ideological or political viewpoint of a student, job applicant, job candidate, or candidate for promotion or tenure.
The bill summary lists 16 examples of divisive concepts, mostly dealing with race, sex, religion, and political affiliation.
One of those examples is that “[a]n individual, by virtue of the individual’s race or sex, is inherently privileged, racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or subconsciously.”
Another is that “[a]n individual, by virtue of the individual’s race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex.”
Other examples of divisive concepts include teaching that meritocracy is somehow racist or sexist, that Americans are not created equally and that anyone should feel guilt or suffer any psychological distress based solely on their race, sex, religion, or political affiliation.
Many divisive concepts have indeed become the doctrine of the political left and are taught nearly ubiquitously at institutes of higher learning.
Further, the law prevents discrimination against guest speakers for their political affiliation.
This has been an issue nationwide for conservative speakers.
For example, in 2019, conservative commentator Ben Shapiro twice was scheduled to speak at Gonzaga University in Washington. Both events were canceled due to political backlash from students, faculty, and staff.
Even Grand Canyon University, a Christian school, canceled a Shapiro event in 2019, saying that the “current high volume of rhetoric has not led to community-building or problem-solving,” but assuring the public that the school “encourage[s] thoughtful discussions and rational dialogue in our classrooms about the issues affecting our society, and we encourage students to put greater emphasis on actions that produce positive change in our society.”
Earlier this year, Riley Gaines, a former college swimmer and outspoken critic of biological males competing in female sports, was forced to abort a speaking engagement and cornered by “protestors” at San Francisco University, who demanded a ransom payment to let her exit a building on campus.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter.
