Today in Class....
Today in class at AC I was given a survey to fill out and was told to take it very seriously. It's a survey given to us by SACS, the organization responsible for AC's accreditation. We had received the same survey once already and I had forgotten about it because I only made it though the first 2 questions and just left the class for lunch. Today I bothered to make it all the way through the ten questions and for the first time since elementary school I actually felt flustered while filling out answers. As a matter of fact it got me so flustered that I actually felt obligated to steal a copy of the survey despite the fact that that action was a definite no-no. Anyway, thought I'd share it with you guys and get your thoughts. The survey was done in a standard agree/neutral/disagree format.
1. The established authorities in our country are usually smarter, better informed, and more competent than others are, and the people can rely upon them.
2. Our country desperately needs a mighty leader who will do what has to be done to destroy the radical new ways and sinfulness that are ruining us.
3. Our country will be great if we honor the ways of our forefathers, do what authorities tell us to do, and get rid of the "rotten apples" who are ruining everything.
4. There are many radical, immoral peole in our country today, who are trying to ruin it for their own godless purposes, whom the authorities should put out of acton.
5. Our country will be destroyed someday, if we do not smash the perversions eating away at our moral fiber and traditional beliefs.
6. The situation in our country is getting so serious, the strongest methods would be justified if they eliminated the troublemakers and got us back on our true path.
7. What our country really needs is a strong, determined leader who will crush evil, and take us back to our true path.
8. The only way our country can get through the crisis ahead is to get back to our traditional values, put some tough leaders in power, and silence the troublemakers spreading bad ideas.
9. It would be best for everyone if the proper authorities censored magazines so that people could not get their hands on trashy disgusting material.
10. What our country really needs, instead of more "civil rights', is a good stiff dose of law and order.
This survey reeks of good ol' fashioned southern bigotry, but as far as to its purpose I can't quite figure it out. I can't tell if the people who made this survey actually feel this way or are testing for the people who do.
Proselytizing, plain and simple. There is not a polling organization on the planet that would use such 'leading' questions in a professional survey. The intention of the people who put this together is to preach and they are not seriously asking for anyone’s opinion. How can a publicly funded school allow such tripe to be distributed to its students? I am more than willing to take action. A letter with a copy of the “survey” from FTO to Dr. Paul Matney?
Tracy - I checked out the SACS website myself as well and could find nothing that would lead me to believe they would put out something like this. I would also love some help checking it out, I'm in the midst of finals at the moment and supremely busy but here in a few weeks after christ-fest hits full swing I'll have plenty of time to look into this a little further.
Rodney - I agree completely about this survey, quite honestly several of the questions felt like a personal attack by the way they were worded. Specifically number 4 ,"There are many radical, immoral peole in our country today, who are trying to ruin it for their own godless purposes, whom the authorities should put out of acton." with an emphasis on godless. I would be very happy to provide you and anyone else as many copies as you would like but I would like to avoid attaching my name to this as long as I can. I realize that sounds cowardly but I'm just still not ready to to put myself out there majorly as an aetheist. The enormity of the familial consequences cannot be over-stated.
Thank you both for your responses, I haven't felt that lonely and isolated in a crowded room in a long time and its really great to have some people who also see a problem with this.
Call me anytime and I can come by to get copies. Your name need never be mentioned. My son was at AC last and may have also been subjected to this sort of thing.
Rodney Hinds
806-683-5198
FYI - We put a letter in the mail to Dr. Matney on Tuesday.
Dang! What class was this in? That would freak me out too.
I looked at SACS's website, and they look secular. It might be that someone from the local board produced the survey. In any case, it does strike me as proselytizing. I would love to help if you want to investigate it. I can't think of any reason why an accreditting institution would produce a survey like that, so it's possible that someone is abusing their position. It's worth looking into.