WHAT WAS OPERATION RED SCARE?
Timeline and Key Documents
February
24, 2005- A Flyer is anonymously posted at ten (10) Santa Rosa Junior
College (S.R.J.C.) instructors’ offices, including mine. Underneath a bright red star, the flyer
quotes California Education Code 51530, which prohibits “the
advocacy or teaching of communism with the intent of indoctrinating or
inculcating a preference in the mind of any pupil for such doctrine.” The code defines communism as “the political
theory that the presently existing form of government of the
February
28, 2005- The S.R.J.C. College Republicans – an official student club at
S.R.J.C. – appear when KFTY TV
50 interviews some of the targeted faculty.
The club provides a Press Release announcing, “The Santa Rosa Junior College
Republicans are responsible for the posting of the Education Code Section 51530
that was signed ‘Anonymous students’. We
did this because we believe certain instructors at SRJC are in violation of
February
28, 2005 – The California
College Republicans publish a press release on its web site. It identifies the SRJC College Republicans’
actions as “Operation Red Scare.”
February
28, 2005 – A blog appears on the College
Republicans Community’s Journal. Its
author claims to be the President of the
March
2, 2005- The SRJC student newspaper, The Oak Leaf, publishes a front page story
titled “Code Red?”. The article frames its
story with the subtitle "Republicans feel faculty blowback over
flyer." The article shifts the story from the 'Red Star Flyer' to the
faculty reaction to the flyer. Quoting the SRJC College Republican's February
28th press release, the article ignores the press release's claim that "We
did this because we believe certain instructors at SRJC are in violation of
California state law"; and it merely mentions then ignores the fact
McPherson admitted she had "no specific complaints, no threats or specific
accusations." The story portrays the SRJC College Republicans' behavior
during the February 28th KFTY interview as a "search for dialogue";
and the story contrasts this with a portrait of a faculty member who, according
to the story, "refused to let [the SRJC College Republicans] participate
in the press conference."
March
2, 2005- An Oak Leaf cartoon continues to frame the paper's coverage of
"Operation Red Scare" by emphasizing faculty reaction to the 'Red
Star Flyer'; and it portrays this reaction as a hypocritical attempt to refuse
to let the SRJC College Republicans to participate in the KFTY interview.
March
2, 2005- The Oak Leaf's issue quotes four faculty email messages. The messages had been sent to
a SRJC email list exclusively for SRJC faculty, staff, and administrators.
March
2, 2005- The Oak Leaf's editorial, titled Getting from conflict to dialogue, begins by advocating
that 'Operation Red Scare' be "seen as an opportunity to open a
dialogue" and limits its account of the 'Red Star Flyer' to "the fact
the students initially aired their greivance
anonymously" [Commentary]
March
2, 2005- In his Oak Leaf column "Fair and Balanced," Editor-in-chief, Dana Wright,
compares "Operation Red Scare" to the infamous 1964 Daisy Ad, highlighting that the ad "capitalized on
people's fears by falsely claiming that if Goldwater was elected, there
would be a nuclear war," noting "Republicans denounced the ad, saying
it was underhanded and fallacious," and pointing out "the ad
was taken off the air after only one showing." Despite this, Wright begins
his column by giving, "My compliments to the designer of the 'scarlet letter' that appeared on the doors and windows of
several SRJC instructors last friday" and claims
this "scarlet letter" "[pales] in
significance to the retort it has sparked from faculty..."
March
2, 2005- In an Oak Leaf letter to the editor, Molly McPherson no longer associates
the "the instructors I targeted" with teaching "communism with
the intent to indoctrinate or to inculcate in the mind of any pupil a
preference for communism." Rather, she claims "there's
even been accounts of JC teachers openly advocating Communist and
Marxist theories" and she insists that Communism "has been outlawed in
the classrooms." Despite being quoted in the article "Code Red?"
saying she had "no specific complaints, no threats or specific
accusations," McPherson insists, "This had to be done publicly
because engaging in public discourse is the only way to be taken seriously in
this huge college bureaucracy."
March
2, 2005- In a Press Democrat article titled, “SRJC Uproar over Republican Protest,” McPherson rephrases
the issue again: “It’s a big issue. The
opinion of the far left is presented as fact, with no alternative.” [Commentary]
March
3, 2005- A Press Democrat article titled “SRJC teachers, students face off” adopts McPherson's new
phrasing of the issue when it frames the article with the subtitle “Session
draws crowd eager to debate letters accusing instructors of left-leaning
bias."
March
7, 2005- An Inside Higher Ed article titled 'A New Red Scare' elaborates on this new phrasing of the issue
when it 1) begins by stating, "Members of the College Republicans group at
March
16, 2005- During the S.R.J.C. Academic Senate’s “Open Forum" I read a prepared speech explaining why I think it is premature to
stop talking about 'Operation Red Scare' and the 'Red Star Flyer'; for
"the more I listen to and read from the SRJC College Republicans’
leadership, the more concerned I become that they are not interested in
understanding the issues surrounding this incident. They seem more interested
in creating publicity for a partisan political bill."
March
16, 2005- S.R.J.C. Academic Senate’s “Red Star Resolution” “condemns the behavior of the students
involved for threatening targeted instructors” by, among other things, 1)
labeling instructors communists, 2) ignoring established grievance procedures,
and 3) choosing their targeted faculty based on hearsay complaints by unknown
students.
April
7, 2005- The
Academic Senate for California Community Colleges passes a resolution
titled 'Integrity for the Learning Environment'. The resolution
asserts that Senator Morrow's SB5 "denigrates the abilities of students of
all political, ideological, and religious backgrounds to synthesize and
critically evaluate the information received in the classroom and undermines
the integrity of the learning environment by usurping and impugning the role
and expertise of the instructor in the determination of course content"
and "[reaffirms] its opposition to proposals that abrogate academic
freedom as defined by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP)
and that attempt to undermine the integrity of the learning environment,
whether they be under the title of 'The Student Bill of Rights', 'The Academic
Bill of Rights' or any other name."
April
11, 2005-
April
12, 2005- In an Oak Leaf article titled "Republican Forum Points to Grievance Process," 1- SRJC
Student Trustee, Nick Caston, points out, "I have been on the Board of
Review (the last step [of] the grievance process) for three years and have
never heard a complaint about bias in the class room," and 2- the article
depicts the forum discussing past cases of alleged academic bias; but,
according to the article, when a student refers to Operation Red Scare, saying
"What the Republican club did was hostile and threatening and the faculty
deserve an apology at the very least," the forum moderator "reminded
the crowd that the forum was not about dwelling on the past, but about
moving forward and addressing the issues that had been raised."
April
12, 2005- In an Oak Leaf editorial, California State Senator Rob Morrow (R-Oceanside) attempts
to justify his bill, SB5
(a.k.a. "The Student Bill of Rights"), by 1- charging "In
some cases, our public campuses are morphing into hotbeds of incivility,
intolerance, lack of intellectual diversity, harrassment, intimidation, and
breach of contract," 2- alluding to two alleged examples of academic bias,
3- claiming "some [faculty] humiliate students who offer dissenting
opinions or employ a two-tier grading system that punishes the GPA of those
expressing alternative perspectives," asserting 4- "a growing number
-- both liberal and conservative -- run their classrooms as if managing little
Abu Graibs," and 5- charging the American Association of University
Presidents has "abandoned" a Statement of Principle which declares
"The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free
expression." [Commentary]
April
12, 2005- In his Oak Leaf column "Fair and Balanced," Editor-in-chief, Dana Wright,
insists "I have been declared guilty of bias coverage of the news for no
other reason than my association with the SRJC Republicans." Then, he
explains "why the discrediting of the campus press was a crucial part of
the faculty reaction. They know the Oak Leaf is simply holding a mirror up to
the campus. And so long as there are people who don't like what they see in the
mirror, the paper's credibility will be challenged." [Commentary]
April
12, 2005- S.R.J.C. instructor Terry Mulcaire reads a "Statement to the Board of Trustees at S.R.J.C.."
Suggesting that Senator Morrow's SB5 "responds to a false problem"
and "will have the effect of reducing all knowledge to opinion," the
statement asks, "If everything is arguable, and no one can lay any
particular claim to authoritative knowledge or expertise, then why have a system
of higher education at all?" Claiming that "The anti-intellectualism
that underpins SB5 is breathtaking, and antithetical to everything this college
stands for," Mulcaire "[urges] the board to make public their
opposition to SB5."
April
13, 2005- In an online column titled, 'Red Scare Retro', Michael Davidson, the head of the
California College Republicans, is quoted explaining why the organization used
the name 'Operation Red Scare' on their original press release: "A lot of
the college professors are leftovers from the Seventies - and Communist
sympathizers."
April
17, 2005- In a Press Democrat editorial titled "Sound Advice," Oak Leaf Editor-in-chief, Dana Wright,
compares Operation Red Scare with the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001,
quotes Noam Chomsky saying, "After any criminal act of this scale, you
look at the circumstances and analyze the problems; often times they are
legitimate and aught to be addressed independently of the crime," and then
asserts "I think this is also sound advice for instructors, post-'red-star'."
[Commentary]
April 20, 2005-
Senator Morrow's SB5
fails to pass in the The Education Committee of the California State; but it is
granted a reconsideration. The reconsideration has not been schedule yet.
May 4, 2005-
S.R.J.C. Academic Senate’s Academic
Freedom Resolution "requests that the Board of Trustees and
administration at
May
11, 2005- In an Oak Leaf Guest Column titled "Putting to rest red star not without year-end lessons,"
I propose "As we move on with our lives, I do think it's important to
think about the significance of [Operation Red Scare]." Noting that the American
Heritage dictionary defines 'McCarthyism' as "The practice of
publicizing accusations of political disloyalty or subversion with insufficient
regard for evidence," I claim "The Red Star Incident is a clear case
of McCarthyism." Claiming "Political subversion is a serious
charge" and "publicizing such accusations with insufficient regard
for evidence is reckless, dehumanizing, and despicable." I declare,
"as I approach the end of the semester, and look forward to putting the
Red Star Incident behind me," I want 1- "to forge ahead with a
strengthened resolve to identify and resist McCarthyism when I encounter
it," 2- "to acknowledge those who fail to resist it," 3-
"to appreciate those who do resist it," and 4- "to move forward
with a deepened appreciation of such concerns as part of my commitment to
democracy."
October
17, 2008- During a Santa Rosa Junior College event, historian Dr. Ellen
Schrecker and four
·
Origins of the 50s Red Scare and Implications for Today
·
McCarthyism, Higher Education, and the New Assault on Academic
Freedom
·
Right-Wing Post-Modernism and the Student's Academic Bill of
Rights
·
Remarks on Red Star Incident and Comment on Prof. Ellen
Schrecker’s presentation