Partisanship survey could be a good idea

Terry Dahms Mar. 1, 2021 12:00 am Updated: Feb. 26, 2021 1:14 pm

A bill has been proposed in the Iowa Senate that would require a survey of all employees of the three state universities to determine each person's political affiliation. The results would be reported to the General Assembly by December 30, 2021.

A Republican Senator introduced this proposal as Senate File 292. The assessment is that apparently Democrat professors outnumber Republican professors 12 to 1. This imbalance may explain why there have been claims of 'egregious” violations of suppressing conservative free speech. It is also claimed this imbalance creates no diversity of thought. The survey would therefore substantiate this assessment with survey evidence that Republicans are indeed outnumbered.

Ignoring the audacity and perhaps legality of such a survey, it is also, how can I put it, dumb. The survey would be anonymous. I hope it passes.

When employees are surveyed,I hope they are smart. Mark themselves as Republican. Surveys are good.

Terry Dahms

Iowa City