Response to AJC Column

As a former teacher of Mary Grabar, I was disappointed to read her column "Colleges' open minds close door on sense," attacking UGA professor Betty Jean Craige's column on the importance of teaching new ideas in colleges and universities. My first thought was that she had not read Dr. Craige's column because she hardly seemed to understand or even to respond to its argument. My second thought was that I and others had failed to teach Mary Grabar the importance of logic, fairness, and critical thinking: her column is the worst sort of one-sided, manipulative writing. She resorts to selective anecdotes and personal attacks rather than fact and sound argument. The examples of paper topics and course titles she cites in her column are unrepresentative. The curricula of most major colleges and universities offer students a sound, stable, and wide-ranging course of study. Dr. Craige is one of our best faculty members at UGA. Any student--conservative, moderate, liberal--would be privileged to have her as a teacher. Further, the often-heard notion that our colleges and universities are overrun with radical left wingers is a preposterous myth propagated by people who oppose reason, open thought, and the free exchange of ideas.