Have You Contacted Your Congressman Lately?

I've reached out to District 6 Congressman Bart Gordon recently, and I will provide updates as they are available. His scheduling people e-mailed me to verify my contact information, so I'm hopeful that I will be contacted again. Here is my e-mail to Congressman Gordon:

Congressman Gordon,

I am writing you today to ask for your help. Middle Tennessee State University has proposed budget cuts that would greatly undermine the integrity of the university, and so far students’ concerns appear to have fallen on deaf ears.

I myself am a former MTSU student who majored in Philosophy and Applied Mathematics, both of which are in jeopardy right now. My greatest concern is the Department of Philosophy. I took my first philosophy class as a general requirement, but I loved it so much that I added it as a minor, which then became a major.

I have the utmost respect for this department. All of the instructors have terminal degrees, an academic standard that would be best in all areas of study. The professors are passionate about knowledge, and they inspire their students. Taking philosophy classes changed my life and the way I thought about the world. To deny future students that opportunity saddens me. MTSU should not be willing to sacrifice education while focusing too much funding on non-educational programs and activities.

I’ve been doing some research into the nation’s top 100 universities, and it is no surprise that, as I go down the list, I have yet to find an institution that does not offer philosophy at least at the baccalaureate level. Because MTSU is a public university funded by taxpayers, I believe the administrators should be held accountable for their decisions.

Sadly, this has not been the case. I have written letters, sent e-mails, and left phone messages that have not been returned. Philosophy is a valuable discipline. Students who study philosophy score higher on tests such as the GMAT, the LSAT, and the MCAT. It does not cease to be valuable because a committee with inadequate liberal arts representation suggests it be eliminated or merged with another department.

Philosophy is not an afterthought; it quite the contrary. Philosophy is the basis for all we learn, as well as for all we can prove. Without philosophy, we would have no rules of deduction. Furthermore, recent reports indicate that books philosophical in nature, such as Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, have had tremendous sales increases. It is not unusual that in times of uncertainty people look to philosophy to help them address the unknowable.

Someone needs to take a stand, because Tennessee’s higher learning cannot afford to suffer during these tough times. MTSU should aspire to greatness, not mediocrity. More undergraduates attend MTSU than any other Tennessee university, and MTSU should be willing and able to serve the academic needs of those students at all times.

I am humbly asking you to help keep education a priority. I know you care deeply about this state, as you have continued to serve its people for many years, and I know you could make a difference. Please urge the TBR and legislature not to approve budgets that do not support fundamental educational programs. If we deem philosophy unnecessary, what is next to go? We must preserve the integrity of the university as an institution of higher learning instead of making a mockery of it.