No-Choice Leftists Seek To Block Homeland Security Major At College

The Borough of Manhattan Community College is planning to create a program in 'security management," providing one more academic opportunity for students, and enhancing homeland security by providing trained professionals in the security field.

And the leftists are having none of it, demanding that the school drop the plan.

The president of the student government at BMCC, Jason Negron, said the proposal is "a very scary issue that students are very, very against."

He said if the program were to be instituted, students would be exposed to "a lot of right-wing views" and about "a lot of things that other countries have done to America without giving the other side of the story." He said it was the "progressive" faculty members who voiced opposition to the proposal at Wednesday's meeting

In other words, Jason and a bunch of leftist profs object to the possibility that their monopoly on the propagation of political views might be broken. They are concerned that some students might actually hear a viewpoint other than theirs. They would prefer that the country be more vulnerable to terrorism and that local residents lack skills to compete in the job market -- all so they can continue to spew anti-Americanism.

Ms. [Elinor] Garely (the program's designer) said the objective of the program is not to promote the Department of Homeland Security but to train students in skills that are in high demand in the workplace.

"The need for safety-and-security education is part of every industry," she said.

"Whether you look at cruise ships, shopping malls, corporate headquarters, every bank, they all have security," she said.

Ms. Garely said the program is geared toward students who want entry-level security positions and to security employees who are seeking promotion. She said the 30-credit program could be transferred to four year degree programs offered at such schools as the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, also part of the CUNY system.

According to her proposal, about half of the students at BMCC are employed, with an average income less than $15,000.

Ms. Garely said she was taken aback by the angry reaction to the proposal from faculty members, whom she encouraged to read the proposal.

"I think that the discussion and viewpoints are what an academic process is about," she said. "That's why we have colleges, so people can speak out."

Actually, that isn't why we have colleges, Ms. Garely. We have colleges so that people can learn, and acquire the skills and knowledge they need to be productive contributors to our society. Sounds to me like your school has lost sight of that mission.