The National Council for the Social Studies' (NCSS) College and University Faculty Association votes down a resolution opposing the Iraq war and fascism
On November 29, 2007, the assembled members of the College and University Faculty Association (CUFA) of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) voted to reject a motion raised by members of the Rouge Forum opposing the Iraq invasion and war. The vote was about 57 to 41 with, perhaps, 18 abstentions.
As we go press, the final tally had not been reconfirmed by CUFA officials. This was a very small turnout for a CUFA meeting but the vote was a hand count and cannot be disputed.
This is the motion the body, who had earlier heard Sandra Day Oconnor say the US, “is moving toward fascism,” rejected:
Whereas the Iraq invasion and reason have nothing in common and,
Whereas the Iraq war has invaded our education system with military recruiters who defy reason with unkept promises and who unfairly take advantage of economically deprived and oppressed students, and,
Whereas the invasion has intensified the regimentation of curricula and,
Whereas the invasion escalated the use of high-stakes testing as a weapon which sorts youth along lines of race and class, having little to do with intellectual achievement,
Wheras the war is an extension of the international war of the rich on the poor, destroying all semblance of democracy in its wake,
Be it resolved that CUFA notify NCSS, the President of the US, Congress, and the press that we think the US should get out of Iraq now.
Among those voting against this motion were social studies luminaries like Linda Levstik, Walter Parker, David Hicks, and Jeff Passe.
CUFA is the university faculty wing of the National Council of Social Studies. The CUFA members had, earlier in the day, heard Sandra Day Oconnor, former Supreme Court Justice, say, “Fascism is rising in the USA.” Then, in the CUFA meeting, members voted in favor of a motion urging NCATE retain the term “social justice,” in their by-laws.
There was no debate on the Iraq resolution, as has been the case in nearly every similar motion brought by the Rouge Forum to CUFA. Debate inside this group of PhD’s who choose to stand aside like mandarins as their claims to democratic education evaporate around them, is quite rare. In one session four years ago, a CUFA chair person urged that debate on an antiwar motion be cut off before it began on the grounds that snacks were already being served in another room.
In the past, CUFA voted to oppose the war or its conduct. It may be that the smaller numbers at the NCSS convention shifted this vote. The loss of attendance could be due to cuts in social studies education where there are few, if any, state tests. Some members reported that their travel funding had been cut but they came anyway. CUFA and NCSS believe they are the bulwarks of education for democratic citizenship in the US.
Contrary to that belief is the fact that top CUFA members, including leading multiculturalist professors, voted against a Rouge Forum motion favoring affirmative action in 2003, on the grounds that such action might cost profs money from their pay.
Last year, CUFA was addressed by the founder of a million dollar institute, and tenured professor, who spoke for an hour, claiming that the reason people in what he called the Third World suffer from the conditions of their daily lives is because they are not sufficiently “cosmopolitan.” Only Rouge Forum members were laughing.
At the NCSS conference in San Diego this year, no session would have mentioned the war in Iraq if they session had not been proposed and organized by Rouge Forum members.
Many CUFA and NCSS members, especially grad students and younger teachers unaccustomed to NCSS’ undemocratic and reactionary ways, expressed dismay that such an august group could be such an autocratic muddle. But in the course of the conference, nearly 100 new people joined the Rouge Forum, enjoyed long discussions at our booth and social activities.
If it is the case that fascism now emerges around us, and I think it does, the educational work, and direct action, of groups like the Rouge Forum would seem to be vital.
Rich Gibson is a cofounder of the Rouge Forum but in this case he speaks for himself alone. rgibson@pipeline.com.
