The video phenomenon thrust Louisiana State into damage control mode Wednesday, as a conservative watchdog group – Campus Reform – released a clip that appeared to show a professor berating students for their views on global warming.
In a
press release, the group selectively noted that Bradley Schaefer, a professor of physics and astronomy, had warned students who didn’t support government regulation of carbon emissions that “blood will be on your hands.” What the video and press release left out, however, were other provocative comments – found in a longer version of the video – Schaefer made toward students who supported regulation.
Bradley Schaefer... a professor of physics and astronomy at Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge, is captured in a video seeming to admonish students who don't favor regulating carbon emissions. The video, posted on a conservative website, was very selectively edited.
“You want to get rid of the internal combustion engine,” he said mockingly to self-identified liberals. “How many people are going to die with that? How are you going to feed the people in the cities?”
In an interview with Inside Higher Ed Wednesday, Schaefer described his induction into the professors-gone-wild club as "a setup.” He said he was recorded unknowingly by a person who wasn’t even enrolled in his class. And while Schaefer did divide students in the classroom based on their self-identified political views, he said he did so as part of an intellectual exercise. The idea was to place Schaefer in the role of an antagonist, forcing students of every political persuasion to defend their views on how to deal with climate change.
“I was challenging all sides,” he said. “I was presenting all sides, and in a case like that you can always edit out and make anyone say anything.”
Oddly enough, Campus Reform was in possession of the longer video that shows Schaefer attacking both sides. So what’s with the selective clips?
“There was no editing job done. It was made to take the nuts and bolts rather than watch the full 40-minute video,” said Bryan Bernys, spokesman for the group.
