To blog or not to blog
By Ashley Hopkins, staff writer
Posted on January 16, 2007

With the technological revolution underfoot, professors are blogging more than ever. But are issues of academic freedom overpowering their right to free speech?

Many think so, especially because of an incident in October 2005, in which Daniel Drezner, a professor in the political science department at the University of Chicago and founder of a widely read economics blog, was denied tenure.

“It is widely believed that this happened because of his blogging,” said Barkley Rosser, a professor of economics at JMU.  “It is thought that politics were involved, his being more conservative.”

Like Drezner, Rosser blogs and has been working since October 2005 as a co-blogger on http://maxspeak.org/mt, an economics page run by Max Sawicky of the Economic Policy Institute in Washington. Posting on economic and political issues once or twice a week, Rosser is frustrated by gossip blogs, which he feels has helped give the online journals a bad name.

Despite the associations some people draw between blogs and tabloid reports, many can be valuable sources of information, Rosser said. While more credible sites list their sources, some blogs are more reliable than others, and he warns students to be careful when sifting though information and to double-check all sources.

“My view of blogging is that it’s like being an editorial columnist,” Rosser said. “When you read an editorial comment you realize that people are putting forth viewpoints.”
But what about professors, such as Drezner, who are prevented from reaching their professional goals as a result of keeping a blog, or due to the information they post?

Many agree that as long as the content provided upholds university standards and does not harass or offend anyone, faculty should be able to keep blogs and may even incorporate them into a classroom setting.

“Clearly any inappropriate content or language is out of bounds,” said Brandon Schultz, school consultant for the Alvin V. Baird Attention and Learning Disabilities Center on campus.  “Outside of this, I feel that the purpose of higher education is the free exchange of ideas and the exposure of students to new thoughts and ideas. Censoring this free exchange is counterproductive, whether in the classroom or online.”

Dylan Love, a junior and blogger, who often posts to keep friends informed on what’s going on in his personal life, in the news, or with music, agrees with Schultz and thinks professors should be allowed to post information about whatever they see fit as a long as it is within reason.

“People have the right to write what they want,” Love said.

Other students support academic blogging due to the strong relationships open discussion can provide between professors and their students. Senior Lauren Kidd said she believes that professors should be awarded the academic freedom to post information they find interesting or of value to their students.

“As long as material isn’t inappropriate, I feel like professors should have freedom to blog,” Kidd said. “It allows students to form stronger relationships with professors that could help in the future.”