Academic

Who Knew College Teachers Had To Sign Loyalty Oaths?

By Dan Filler

Apparently they do in the California State University system.  This from the SF Chronicle:

As a Quaker, [Cal State East Bay teacher] Kearney-Brown is committed to nonviolence and was unwilling to sign the state oath of allegiance that required her to "swear (or affirm)" that she would "support and defend" the U.S. and California constitutions "against all enemies, foreign and domestic." She tried inserting the word "nonviolently" in front of the word "support," but was told by university officials that altering the oath was unacceptable.

Is this more a story about the inappropriate use of loyalty oaths or a massive bureaucracy that processes an incredibly personal (and powerful) personal affirmation like a HIPAA waiver at the doctor's office?  In the end, lawyers with the state AG allowed her to append the following statement:  "Signing the oath does not carry with it any obligation or requirement that public employees bear arms or otherwise engage in violence." 

Saddest of all is that the rare person who actually read and cared about the oath was the one who got rolled under the bus.

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on March 10, 2008 (boomark / email).