Comments on: Classroom Advocacy http://tar.weatherson.org/2008/09/26/classroom-advocacy/ Donate to Oxfam: <a>Australian link</a>, <a>New Zealand link</a>, <a>UK link</a>, <a>US link</a>. Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:57:01 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: toposopher http://tar.weatherson.org/2008/09/26/classroom-advocacy/comment-page-1/#comment-5479 toposopher Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:29:23 +0000 http://tar.weatherson.org/2008/09/26/classroom-advocacy/#comment-5479 This may be relevant: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=154712,00.html [IRS tax code 501(c)(3)] By advocating a particular candidate in the classroom, one could endanger the University's tax-exempt status. This may be relevant: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=154712,00.html
[IRS tax code 501©(3)] By advocating a particular candidate in the classroom, one could endanger the University’s tax-exempt status.

]]> By: Bence Nanay http://tar.weatherson.org/2008/09/26/classroom-advocacy/comment-page-1/#comment-5467 Bence Nanay Mon, 13 Oct 2008 01:59:14 +0000 http://tar.weatherson.org/2008/09/26/classroom-advocacy/#comment-5467 Brian, I think that writing an entry on Thoughts Arguments and Rants amounts to using your position of authority. More grad students (and undergrads) will read what you write here than the total number of students you have taught. And many of these students probably value your opinion more than they value their own professor's (that's why they read the blog, presumably). So, if you mean what you write about not abusing one's authority in the classroom, you shouldn't write things like 'voting for Obama is pretty close to a moral requirement'. Now, I do think that voting for Obama is pretty close to a moral requirement and I also think that you or anyone else should be free to say so in their blogs, but then they should also be free to say so in their class. Brian, I think that writing an entry on Thoughts Arguments and Rants amounts to using your position of authority. More grad students (and undergrads) will read what you write here than the total number of students you have taught. And many of these students probably value your opinion more than they value their own professor’s (that’s why they read the blog, presumably).

So, if you mean what you write about not abusing one’s authority in the classroom, you shouldn’t write things like ‘voting for Obama is pretty close to a moral requirement’.

Now, I do think that voting for Obama is pretty close to a moral requirement and I also think that you or anyone else should be free to say so in their blogs, but then they should also be free to say so in their class.

]]> By: Robin Hanson http://tar.weatherson.org/2008/09/26/classroom-advocacy/comment-page-1/#comment-5465 Robin Hanson Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:38:37 +0000 http://tar.weatherson.org/2008/09/26/classroom-advocacy/#comment-5465 I responded at http://www.overcomingbias.com/2008/10/weathersons-bad.html I responded at http://www.overcomingbias.com/2008/10/weathersons-bad.html

]]> By: harry_flashman http://tar.weatherson.org/2008/09/26/classroom-advocacy/comment-page-1/#comment-5464 harry_flashman Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:34:00 +0000 http://tar.weatherson.org/2008/09/26/classroom-advocacy/#comment-5464 I'm decidedly anti-Obama, yet I think there is a way for you to feel better about your registration drive. The military is overwhelmingly Republican and hosts similar, non-partisan voting drives. While individual groups may skew one way or the other, in theory the net result of all the country's groups ought to be roughly representative. Now this doesn't reflect people who aren't part of any such groups, and perhaps a labour union organises more than a Republican-leaning group of den mothers, but nothing is perfect. In any event, I think there is a public good in providing people an opportunity to vote, less so in trying to coerce the most idle among us to vote as ignorantly as possible. Oh, and I live in Europe right now and the EU does heavily fund the pro-EU integration side in referrenda. It's severely undemocratic. I’m decidedly anti-Obama, yet I think there is a way for you to feel better about your registration drive. The military is overwhelmingly Republican and hosts similar, non-partisan voting drives. While individual groups may skew one way or the other, in theory the net result of all the country’s groups ought to be roughly representative. Now this doesn’t reflect people who aren’t part of any such groups, and perhaps a labour union organises more than a Republican-leaning group of den mothers, but nothing is perfect. In any event, I think there is a public good in providing people an opportunity to vote, less so in trying to coerce the most idle among us to vote as ignorantly as possible.

Oh, and I live in Europe right now and the EU does heavily fund the pro-EU integration side in referrenda. It’s severely undemocratic.

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