A university instructor talks to his students about a Sept. 11 conspiracy theory that says the Bush administration was involved in the attacks, and lawmakers call for him to be fired.
That’s the story that unfolded at the University of New Hampshire last week concerning psychology Professor William Woodward. It’s also the story of Kevin Barrett, an instructor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison who became the center of controversy in July.
While the two cases are not identical, they are parallel. So is the debate in the two states between unhappy lawmakers and administrators supporting the professors in the name of academic freedom.