The Students for Academic Freedom is a nationwide group who are combating what they call “bias” from American schools. They were founded by David Horowitz, the author of the famous “Academic Bill of Rights” and vehement conservative. The goal of the SAF is to help students get the facts without being indoctrinated by educators.

“[Avoid] taking unfair advantage of the student’s immaturity by indoctrinating him with the teacher’s own opinions,” says Horowitz in the Academic Bill of Rights, and quoting the 1915 General Report.

“Before the student has had an opportunity to examine other opinions upon the matters in question and before he has sufficient knowledge and ripeness of judgment to be entitled to form any definitive opinion of his own.”

Terri Landes and Katie Teague head up Ventura College’s chapter of SAF. The two ladies are proudly conservative and do nothing to temper it in respect to their club. They claim that everyone is aware of their bias, and they expect other biases to balance theirs out.

It is widely known that college campuses are liberal environments, and the SAF may be trying to balance out that with a conservative viewpoint, but it seems unfair to claim that they are non-partisan when so much of their work is attacking liberals. According to their website, www.studentforacademicfreedom.org they have found evidence of “liberal bias” all across America, and are seeking to eliminate it wherever possible.

Landes and Teague are both politically active, and both have been seen at anti-liberal protests around Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. Last year they protested the Arlington West memorial as it moved through Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. According to several VC faculty members, Teague was reportedly wearing a Burkha robe and running among the memorial, while Landes was involved with the group “Citizens for Truth” who claim that the memorial was an affront to veterans of the Iraqi war. According to “The Channels” which is the newspaper from Santa Barbara City College, Landes was present at their Arlington West memorial, as well as an unnamed Burkha clad woman. The upside is that within the VCSAF, Landes and Teague try very hard to promote critical thought amongst the younger members and help them to get involved in their studies and ask hard questions of their instructors.

They are very active on the Ventura Campus, with a public table Tuesdays and Thursdays, and host a movie once a week. As well as a variety of events all semester long.

Landes (Jeffrey Moore)