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In reply to the discussion: Mining Would Be Exciting For Kids: Trumps Secretary Of Education Wants Legal Child Labor [View all]Mc Mike
(9,111 posts)" In March 2011, as protests over Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's proposal to effectively end public sector collective bargaining continued to grow in Wisconsin, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy issued Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for three Michigan Universities, the University of Michigan, Wayne State University and Michigan State University. The request targeted any emails containing: collective bargaining, Wisconsin, Madison, Scott Walker or Maddow. The requests target labor studies faculty at each school. [57] USA Today wrote that Mackinac's "demands for professors' e-mails about Wisconsin's public employee labor strife is causing an uproar among some who suggest the Freedom of Information Act requests aim to intimidate pro-labor dissenters and stifle academic freedom." [57]
The FOIA request was very similar to one submitted by the Republican Party of Wisconsin to University of Wisconsin-Madison historian William J. Cronon during the same week, after the professor had published a blog post questioning the role of the American Legislative Exchange Council in Governor Walker's anti-union legislation. [58] Paul Krugman of the New York Times wrote " theres a clear chilling effect when scholars know that they may face witch hunts whenever they say things the G.O.P. doesnt like." [59]
Like the Wisconsin GOP's request for Cronon's emails, Mackinac's request posed some concerns for university professors because the request could be an attempt to quell political opposition. [60] In a New York Times article, Director of Academic Freedom for the American Association of University Professors, Greg Scholtz, said, We think all this will have a chilling effect on academic freedom. Weve never seen FOIA requests used like this before.[61] "
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Mackinac_Center_for_Public_Policy#Chilling_Academic_Freedom.3F