Kennesaw is pushing forward to create a tolerable image from an intolerant region.

By Garrette Griffin, Contributor

Kennesaw Mountain has been the battleground of the American Civil War and Georgia has been a battleground for the battle for Civil Rights. Georgia and the South as a whole have maintained a very traditional atmosphere, with a 70-percent protestant affiliated population, detailed by the Pew Research organization, being Christian is part of the culture. Another aspect of Georgia is its maintained stance within politics having stood with Republican candidates for over a decade.

Unfortunately, these traditions have stood as a barrier for the growth of well-founded liberal educations. A liberal education as defined by Kennesaw State University’s seminar textbook “Foundations of Inquiry”, 6th ed. is “an environment in which both faculty and staff teach, research, and express their opinions through free inquiry without fearing retribution.”  In the past, this has not always been possible. One of the biggest issues is the concept of evolutionary theory, and the biggest misconception is the intertwining of the definition of theory as a common term compared to the scientific definition of a theory.“Reger Chemistry Principles and Practice” 3^rd ed. clarifies the difference stating that “a confirmed and accepted explanation of the laws of nature is called a theory,” which differs highly from the common use of the word which would be more accurately described as a hypothesis, which as the textbook explains “describes a possible explanation for an observation.”

These misconceptions about evolution and many other concepts are dubiously mixed up in school board meetings as well as by parents. A court case that occurred in Cobb County in 2006 was spawned from a sticker on a textbook stating that “Evolution is a theory, not a fact, concerning the origin of living things”, which can be found on USA Today’s website concerning the event. The parents argued that this claim intentionally cast doubt on a scientific consensus violating the clause for Separation of Church and State in the Georgia Constitution, and after deliberation by a judge it was decided that the sticker did violate the clause. With shifts toward more scientific based information and away from traditional ideals, Kennesaw was a battleground for the growth of a liberal education too.

With the emphasis on traditionalism that is still prevalent and taught throughout the South, and definitively taught in Georgia, we create a negative juxtaposition between a liberal education as defined by KSU, and a religious foundation. In Leo Tolstoy’s famous novel “War and Peace”, one of his characters, Mary, sends a letter to a friend and within this letter she discusses her opinions of learning stating that: “let us be persuaded that the less we let our feeble human minds roam, the better we shall please God, who rejects all knowledge that does not come from Him”. This solidifies a consensus within these traditional values that learning is against God, and that the veil of ignorance is there for a reason. A liberal education’s foundation is the opposite of this principle, and focuses entirely on the concept of asking all questions, leaving no stone unturned and even if the question is ugly and offensive, it still needs to be asked. With the clashing of cultures, science and unrestricted curiosity, being tempered by oftentimes dogmatic focus on traditional values, we are faced with having to choose to listen to our professor or our parent.

Making freedom of thought and expression, no matter what orientation or religious affiliation has been a priority of institutions of higher education, and KSU has achieved that. Through the use of Owl Life, and other programs that give students and opportunity to engage and communicate ideas that vary across the board, this university has not only enabled the growth of students who have not had an opportunity to experience different ideas, but also created an environment that is free from pressure and prejudice.