by Andrea Neal Purdue Boilermakers can thank the Morrill Land Grant Act for their highly regarded college diploma. The law, signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862, gave federal land to states if they agreed to use the land-sale proceeds to start colleges of agriculture and mechanic arts for the children of the working class. With the Morrill Act’s passage, one historian noted, “higher education in the United States was no longer confined to its…

by Tom Charles Huston The renowned historian Kareem Abdul-Jabbar opines in Time magazine that, as a consequence of adopting its Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Indiana has put itself “on the wrong side of history.” Mr. Abdul-Jabbar must have studied off-season at the knee of James H. Madison at Indiana University. When used in the context of predicting ultimate winners, “history” is a determinist term of art. Viewed through a 17th-century Whig lens, history is the…

For the use of the membership only; not for duplication, distribution or quotation without permission of the author. by Tom Charles Huston Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis) articulates the Democratic case against the religious-freedom statute in a temperate and reasoned Facebook post while professing his own commitment to defending “anyone’s right to their belief and any church’s right to exercise its own creed.” It is this sort of assurance that best explains why advocates of the…

by Eric Schansberg, Ph.D. Let’s start with a riddle: What federal legislation was popular 20 years ago but created a firestorm when Indiana passed a similar law last week? If you’ve been paying attention to any media, the answer is obvious: the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Agitation and confusion over the law’s intent may lead lawmakers to tweak it. But for now, what can we say? First, depending on the comparison, 19 or 30…

by Cecil Bohanon, Ph.D. Gallons of ink have been spilled over the problems of higher education — and rightfully so. Colleges and universities have been given the task of remedying all kinds of problems from income inequality to cancer. Too often collegiate administrators and their in-house publicists have encouraged the view that higher education is a cure-all for social ills. Nothing is as dangerous as an oversold product. My cynical side says that university education,…

For the use of the membership only; not for duplication, distribution or quotation without permission of the author. by Tom Charles Huston When the Religious Freedom Restoration Act was pending before Congress in 1993, the American Civil Liberties Union claimed that passage of the measure was “the most important action that Congress can take for the free exercise of religion since the First Congress passed the Bill of Rights.” It passed handily and was signed…

by ANDREA NEAL After almost two years on the State Board of Education, I’ve reached a conclusion that shatters previous notions I had about federalism and local control of schools. Hoosiers don’t determine education policy in Indiana. The federal government does. Whether through the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) or its companion waiver program overseen by Education Secretary Arne Duncan, states have been stripped of their constitutional responsibility for operating schools. Almost nothing that…

For the use of the membership only; not for duplication, distribution or quotation without permission of the author. by Tom Charles Huston I am astonished at the fury the gay lobby has succeeded in unleashing with respect to legislation that is likely to have little practical impact on gays. This success should be a bell in the night for conservatives who labor under the illusion that acquiescence in the judicial legalization of same-sex marriage will…

by Joy Pullmann Indiana’s current debate over government’s role in education mirrors the national debate, which has resurfaced as Congress considers bills to rewrite No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the central federal-education law. Republican leaders in Congress had to pull a vote on one of those rewrites for lack of conservative votes after constituents peppered lawmakers with complaints that the new proposal was too much like the old. Republican leaders may not have noticed, but…

A Procrustean bed: a scheme or pattern into which someone is arbitrarily forced by either stretching or cutting. WE HAVE REACHED a point in Indiana’s public discussion in which a citizen who decides between the proffered options faces a dreadful ordeal. The liberal gentry of Indianapolis, both Republican and Democrat, is fine with this. Its members can pose in the manner of a Starbucks CEO, in the most reasonable of clothing, to hover above it…