A controversial global warming lecture by a University professor is getting national attention after a conservative student activist group posted a video of the speech online.
The video shows astronomy professor Bradley Schaefer leading his early-level astronomy class in a discussion about global warming. The video originally surfaced on Louisiana website TheHayride.com and Virginia-based website CampusReform.org, which is run by the Leadership Institute, a conservative student activist group.
The Associated Press picked up the story Thursday after it made the CampusReform site. That story appeared on the Huffington Post, while material from the story was used on the FOX News website.
“A Louisiana professor says he is being wrongly targeted by conservative activists who released video excerpts of a lecture on climate change,” the AP article says.
The article quotes Daily Reveille staff writer Rachel Warren, who reported about the controversy Tuesday.
Local radio station WJBO also aired the story, including a call-in segment asking listeners whether Schaefer should be fired.
Kevin Carman, dean of the College of Science, has said there are no plans to censure Schaefer for the lecture.
The clip shows a lecture Schaefer gives every semester, in which he separates the class into groups based on what those students think should be done to combat global warming.
The video shows Schaefer challenging those students who think little or nothing should be done on the issue.
“[That’s] too little, too late,” the video shows Schaefer saying. ”Blood will be on your hands.”
The video includes captions for Schaefer and the students, many of whom seem incredulous about the lecture.
“I think this is basically an opportunity for our teacher to openly mock us,” one student says.
The website shows less than two minutes of the 40-minute lecture, although the full lecture is available online.
Schaefer told The Daily Reveille on Monday the clips were taken out of context.
“Someone on the other extreme could have edited it the other way,” he said.
Schaefer said he challenged everyone in the class, regardless of their views of global warming.
“I’m a teacher,” Schaefer said. “I’m supposed to make them think.”
Bryan Bernys, field director for the Leadership Institute, said Schaefer wasn’t being fair in his criticism.
“If he was doing that, he wouldn’t have made these outlandish comments,” Bernys argues.
Bernys argued Schaefer was simply targeting students who didn’t believe in global warming.
“I think it’s great for people to be exposed to this,” he said. ”It exposes what’s being taught in our public universities.”
 
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Contact Matthew Albright at [email protected]