Conservative Whining

So you know about this "Academic Bill of Rights" that Florida State Senator Dennis Baxley (seriously, do a Google News Search on this guy's name and get an idea of the looney laws he sponsors) is pushing through? The basic idea is that it would allow students to sue their professors for not teaching creationism (or something like that...it's a pretty vague bill, as far as I can tell). There's apparantly some effort to push through a similar bill in California. Of the Florida bill:

The bill sets a statewide standard that students cannot be punished for professing beliefs with which their professors disagree. Professors would also be advised to teach alternative “serious academic theories” that may disagree with their personal views.

According to a legislative staff analysis of the bill, the law would give students who think their beliefs are not being respected legal standing to sue professors and universities.

Students who believe their professor is singling them out for “public ridicule” – for instance, when professors use the Socratic method to force students to explain their theories in class – would also be given the right to sue.

“Some professors say, ‘Evolution is a fact. I don’t want to hear about Intelligent Design (a creationist theory), and if you don’t like it, there’s the door,’” Baxley said, citing one example when he thought a student should sue.

Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, warned of lawsuits from students enrolled in Holocaust history courses who believe the Holocaust never happened.

Similar suits could be filed by students who don’t believe astronauts landed on the moon, who believe teaching birth control is a sin or even by Shands medical students who refuse to perform blood transfusions and believe prayer is the only way to heal the body, Gelber added.

I work at a liberal-as-fuck college, and my job involves processing donations that come in. Many of these come in with notes saying things like "I will give to the college when you stop teaching anti-American liberal propaganda to the students," or some such nonsense (we also get alot of demands to fire the Basketball coach, or promises of more money when the Track Team improves). I have one in front of me right now, a $50 check with a note saying they'll give more when the college "hires more conservative/republican professors."

Before this job, I had practically the same job at an extremely conservative school, and I think I remember getting one similar note (which had the word "homophobia" in it, and sounded like it may have been inspired by a specific incident). Why this descrepency? Are conservatives more likely to get offended by this sort of thing? Or is it that liberals have the sense not to go to a college where Ken Starr is the Chair of the fucking law school?

The very fun CHUD thread on the Florida bill.