By TDEIBERT
Updated: Sat, 24 Dec 2011 14:55:35 UTC

I am currently a pre-medical biochemistry major at a major university. I recently submitted a paper entitled "Survival of the Fetus", thinking that my play on words would grant readers an opportunity to be curious about abortion through humor.

On reading my title, my professor was instantly appalled, not only by my attempt at humor on a touchy subject, but also by my beliefs. "Are you an atheist?" he spat at me, suggesting that it was a dirty unclean prospect.

I was asked not only to change the topic of my paper but to read what he called an "enlightening" text about the horrors of abortion, before being ushered out of his office.

I later read a paper submitted by one of my class mates that was highly praised by my professor. The paper was in fact a mirror of my rejected work: all the same points were made but in arguments against abortion.

My question is this: how can we possibly bring about new ideas in a society when people reject the prospect of indulging in anything but their own ideals, especially when professors are forbidden to stray into such hot waters? Are teachers and mentors some of the most influential people in young adults' lives?

TAGGED: EDUCATION, REASON, SOCIETY