EXCLUSIVE: 'Conservatives often just stay silent in fear': A look inside a woke, anti-Trump English class
Students taking an English course at Springfield College learn from a woke textbook and anti-Trump teaching materials.
One student told Campus Reform they felt unable to speak up in class given the one-sided presentation of the material.
Campus Reform obtained a handout from the English 113 class at Springfield College that uses anti-Trump rhetoric and a “Fabric of Oppression” table to teach students “How Arguments Work.”
”Many Americans do not trust Trump because media sources point out his many lies,” one part of the teaching aid at the Massachusetts college reads.
The handout for Professor Dan Fraizer’s class comes from Stanford Professor Andrea Lunsford’s textbook Everyday Writer, according to the document.
”How Arguments Work” teaches students different types of argumentative claims and the three rhetorical appeals in writing: emotional, ethical, and logical.
The explanation for emotional appeals reads, “Putting immigrant children in cages caused many people to turn against Trump’s border policy because most of believe [sic] young children should not be separated from their families.”
Accordingly, “[s]eparating families at the border is cruel and inhuman punishment” is provided as an example of a “claim of value.”
In addition to anti-Trump language, “How Arguments Work” also contains an example with an apparent liberal policy bias.
”Carbon taxes is the best way to reduce climate change,” the handout states as an example of a “claim of policy.”
Campus Reform spoke with a student in the class who wished to remain anonymous.
Citing the poor reviews and claims of political bias on Fraizer’s RateMyProfessor.com profile, the student said they were “nervous about taking the class” and worried they “might be treated differently.”
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”I am pretty quiet and reserved - not really one to voice my own opinion - but it still angers me that people feel the need to keep quiet so they are not singled out,” the student said.
Upon first receiving this handout in class, the student was “annoyed but not surprised.”
“Before classes began, I purchased the English book, which included a cover of Black Lives Matter on the front and LGBT on the back.”
After flipping through the assigned English textbook, the student noticed that the textbook comprised “short essays and articles about feminism, transgenderism, intersectionality, and white privilege.”
“I am angered that they just felt the need to incorporate this political stuff into a required general education English class,” the student said. “I am majoring in Physical Therapy so I was expecting to take mostly math and sciences. I was sort of expecting to stay away from this sort of political stuff.”
They stated, “Conservatives often just stay silent in fear of it affecting their grades or what not. The school values diversity and inclusivity, but does that include diversity of thought?”
According to the student, the class’ next assignment is an essay on White privilege.
”We are being assigned various readings on white privilege, male privilege, intersectionality, and gender to prepare for this upcoming essay.”
One of the assignment handouts includes a chart titled “The Fabric of Oppression.”
The chart claims that privileged groups include White people, males, Christians, Heterosexuals, wealthy and middle class people, temporarily able people, people aged 25-50, and people from Western European countries.
”Subordinated groups” include “homosexuals,” “females, transgender people,” and “young and old people.”
”It is difficult to tell if people actually agree with it or are just going along with it,” the student commented regarding “The Fabric of Oppression’s” message.
Campus Reform reached out to Professor Dan Fraizer and Springfield College for comment, but did not receive a response.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @logandubil
