Question: How Should Middle East Studies Address the Issues of Academic Freedom and Academic Boycotts?

Challenges to academic freedom have been much in the news of late, with coverage and interest extending well beyond college newspapers and the publications of our profession.In the United States, there is no question that members of the Middle East studies community have been disproportionately targeted. A number of our colleagues have been victims of ugly smear campaigns regarding their scholarship; several tenure cases have triggered vicious, high-profile “extramural” attacks against junior faculty; and, in a handful of cases, our colleagues have been barred from giving talks or participating in educational events, owing to their political positions on Middle East-related issues. Others from outside this community who have also ventured to engage key regional issues in critical ways have had their invitations to give presentations in policy or academic forums rescinded.

AD CAMPAIGNS AND MEDICAL SCHOOLS

As medical education has become something of a buyer's market, a Midwest medical school and a Texas university are resorting to advertising for students. The Medical College of Ohio in Toledo has taken out ads in 23 Ohio college newspapers urging premed students to consider applying. Meanwhile, the University of Texas System, in a broader appeal, is running TV ads urging young Texans to choose health careers. University of Texas officials hope their ad campaign will help stem a decline in enrollments in the state's medical and related schools, the same trend observed nationally for the past 15 years. Medical-school enrollments declined 37% nationwide between 1974 and 1988, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Drinking in the Mass Media: A Nine-Year Project

A nine-year study involved content analyses of five types of national media. Using stratified random samples, television, magazines, daily newspapers, college newspapers, and comic books were studied. Emphasis was placed on drinking patterns as well as on quantitative frequency and distribution measures. Alcohol appearances took a variety of forms. Depictions and discussions of alcoholism were infrequent; more common were alcohol appearances as unplanned and “taken for granted.” Many appearances were minor. Frequency was considerable; however, in television series, use of alcohol was more frequent than use of coffee, tea, soft drinks and water combined. Each medium had its own manner of presentation. Using a process called “cooperative consultation” intervention with media personnel to change alcohol-relevant materials was shown to be possible.