Students at a high school in the heart of California’s “liberal country” say they’ve had enough of leftist “brainwashing” by their teachers, so they’re joining forces to promote their own ideology.
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Along with the Environmental Club, Hate Stops Here, and the Gay-Straight Alliance, the Conservative Club now has a place at Rancho Cotate High in Sonoma County.
“We’re being brainwashed by the liberal bias of teachers. It’s everywhere,” freshman Keith Butler told the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat.
The Conservative Club was founded by Tim Bueler, a 16-year-old junior who reportedly looks up to talk-show hosts Michael Savage and Bill O’Reilly. He says he’s using the First Amendment to promote a Christian viewpoint he believes doesn’t usually sit well with most teachers and administrators, not to mention his fellow students.
“We obviously believe the liberals are trying to destroy everything in America that our forefathers fought and died for,” Bueler, whose late grandfather survived Pearl Harbor, told the paper.
“I was just tired of the one-sided arguments of liberal teachers who mold the curriculum to their point of view. Basically, the Conservative Club was formed to show the other side of the spectrum and another point of view.”
As an example, Bueler says one of his professors refers in class to President Bush and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as “idiots,” while other teachers slam Republicans and conservatives as greedy capitalists, racists and sexists.
The motto for the club sounds like it could have come straight out of the mouth of Michael Savage: “Protecting our borders, language and culture.” The slogan has prompted some students to call the club racist and sexist.
Bueler denies the allegations, as both female students and minorities are members.
Complaints about liberal voices at school have been more frequently associated with college campuses than high school.
As WorldNetDaily reported in September, a report found liberal speakers outnumber conservative voices at the nation’s top universities’ graduation ceremonies by a wide margin, confirming to campus critics that students are bombarded with one-sided political stances.
The Center for the Study of Popular Culture, which examined the political views of commencement speakers at the nation’s elite colleges and universities, found those with liberal ideas outnumbered conservative speakers 226-15 over a 10-year period.
Meanwhile, back at Rancho Cotate, the Conservative Club has fired up controversy by hosting an NRA member who gave a speech titled “We Need More Guns in Schools.”
The presentation suggested if more teachers had firearms, there would be fewer tragedies like the slaughter at Columbine High in Littleton, Colo.
Michael Watenpaugh, superintendent of the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District told the Press-Democrat that until the club was formed, there had been no complaints about a liberal bias.
“All of our classroom teachers have a duty and responsibility to present both sides of issues,” he said.
The club’s adviser, English teacher Bernadette Tucker, said she decided to take part to help the students exercise their First Amendment rights.
“Just because something is not popular it doesn’t mean you can’t say it,” Tucker said, according to the report.
And according to at least one student member, the Conservative Club is having an impact by making teachers more cognizant to present a variety of viewpoints.
“There’s been a change,” 16-year-old Ryan Riekena said. “One of my teachers is already saying we have to look at both sides on every issue.”
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