Academic freedom should not be compromised by government's agenda.
A new bill, called “the International Studies Higher Education Act (HR 3077), reauthorizes about $80 million in funding for international and foreign language study, but with a twist. Now the government would allocate more resources to programs that emphasize national security,” says the Christian Science Monitor.
Universities are, perhaps, the most democratic institutions in America. Freedom of speech, intellectual experimentation and debate allow students to learn what it truly means to be an American citizen. Study abroad programs, then, broaden students’ horizons and allow them to see the role they should assume in an increasingly complicated, interconnected world.
Each student’s role is different. I want to study abroad so that I can bring increased global perspectives, combined with patriotism, to the field of journalism. My friend hopes to go to Europe and study politics, so she can come back and be a more compassionate, informed lawyer.
Why should an individual planning to go into national security be able to participate in a study abroad program with more governmental backing? Don’t journalists and lawyers contribute as much to our nation as national security analysts, though in different ways?
Studying abroad allows an extension of the freedom of thought that characterizes higher education. By placing weighed funding on programs emphasizing national security, this freedom is comprised with a biased governmental agenda. The government’s agenda shouldn't interfere with the spirit of American education, our fundamental freedom of choice and thought.
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