MADISON, Wis. – Four professors at the University of Wisconsin Madison are circulating a petition defending the actions of Prof. Sara Goldrick-Rab.

The College Fix reported in mid-July that Goldrick-Rab compared Gov. Scott Walker to Adolph Hitler after Walker and legislative Republicans enacted a series of reforms to the University of Wisconsin system in the state budget. On July 16, the petition claims, the University Committee, which is part of the faculty senate at the UW, issued a reprimand to Goldrick-Rab.

In addition to comparing Walker to Hitler, the outspoken professor used her Twitter account to tell incoming UW students they should pick a different university to attend. In the wake of her reprimand, Goldrick-Rab told The College Fix, “I clearly caused offense, and I’m sorry.”

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But the outcry over the professor’s comments, and particularly the reprimand from the UW, is upsetting to a number of faculty and staff members who work in the UW system. According to the petition:

“It is the University Committee’s reprimand, not Prof. Goldrick-Rab, which is damaging the principle of academic freedom and the university. Prof. Goldrick-Rab has demonstrated her dedication to the University of Wisconsin on many occasions. If the University Committee wishes to encourage the fearless sifting and winnowing on which the great state University of Wisconsin once prided itself, then you should retract your statement and apologize to her. We urge you to do so.”

A Media Trackers review of the petition – which is available here – found at least 48 UW faculty and staff members who have signed it, essentially expressing their belief that it is acceptable to call someone of a different political persuasion Adolph Hitler, and to harass young people who have chosen to attend UW.

Liberal political organizer Ben Manski, who once led the Green Party USA, posted on Facebook urging students, faculty, staff and alumni to sign the petition defending Goldrick-Rab. Manski said that, “Prof. Sara Goldrick-Rab has spoken out more than most faculty members at Wisconsin in opposing Walker and the Chamber of Commerce’s corporatization agenda.” The outcry over her remarks is part of “a distinctly anti-Semitic and misogynist national campaign intended to silence her and to intimidate others,” he claims.

Just how it is “anti-Semitic” to express opposition to calling someone Adolph Hitler is not something Manski bothers to explain.

A number of the professors lining up to defend Goldrick-Rab come from the university’s sociology department, which houses COWS, formerly known as the Center on Wisconsin Strategy, a far-left think-tank. Media Trackers has discovered COWS manipulating data on behalf of labor unions and Democratic lawmakers, and coordinating and conducting research for political efforts by liberal groups.

Here is a PDF copy of the petition with all of the signatures gathered as of Tuesday morning:Open Letter in Support of Sara Goldrick-Rab and Academic Freedom

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Authored by Brian Sikma
Originally published here

Published with permission