A West Virginia political science professor prohibited her students from citing Fox News as a source for research papers because, she told them, the network "makes her cringe."
Stephanie Wolfe, who works at West Liberty University, instructed students to filter out two potential research sources: Fox News, which many Democrats say is slanted to the right, and The Onion, a satirical news source,
NBC affiliate WTOV reports.
Wolfe's syllabus said:
DO NOT use
1) The Onion — this is not news this is literally a parody
2) Fox News — The tagline “Fox News” makes me cringe. Please do not subject me to this biased news station. I would almost rather you print off an article from the Onion
Wolfe, a visiting assistant professor who has a one-year contract with the university, was filling in for another instructor who was on leave, The Daily Caller reports.
On her syllabus, Wolfe does not prohibit any other news sources, such as
MSNBC, which some consider is an overtly progressive news organization.
Parents and students contacted the university to object to Wolfe's ban, prompting a response from Robin Capehart, the school's president.
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"One of our values at West Liberty is to encourage students to go out and inquire and gather information and look at as many different sources as possible on any side, before you reach your opinion," Capehart told WTOV. "Any attempt to limit the breadth of a student's ability to investigate is obviously something at which we have a concern."
Wolfe declined to comment on the issue, WTOV reports. She is still teaching, but no longer imposes any limitations on where students get their information from.