Thomas Sowell has a great article about the Ward Churchill saga at the University of Colorado. Churchill, as you might know, was the professor who compared 9.11 victims with the nazis. Sowell's makes the point that freedom of speech does not equal the right to an audience, nor does it equal an exemption from consequence. Sowell:

Too many people -- some of them judges -- seem to think that freedom of speech means freedom from consequences for what you have said. If you believe that, try insulting your boss when you go to work tomorrow. Better yet, try insulting your spouse before going to bed tonight.

The big problem with the situation, according to Sowell, is that in Churchill's case and in the case of many, if not most teachers and professors, there were no rules or guidelines broken constituting grounds for termination. Sowell:

Should a professor of accounting or chemistry be fired for using up class time to sound off about homelessness or the war in Iraq? Yes!

I've stated on many occassions that I'm tired of the celebrity types that feel the need to use their stage to make political statements. In this case, however, the teacher or professor is on a stage that we cannot, as easily, avoid. I may choose not to support an actor or a musician by purchasing their product. A student in a public high school, on the other hand, doesn't have an easy exit from the bullyish teacher. In some cases the students are not properly trained in critical thinking when these situations arise, even if they had the opportunity to patronize another institution. Schools, colleges, and universities have a duty at the administrative level to create an atmosphere of training as opposed to propagandizing. Guidelines, rules, and constitutions should be put in place to protect the institution from the math teacher who decides he is a political pundit on any given day.