Mark is correct to note the “timidity and cowardice among the professorate.” Sadly, this timidity is not limited to professors. I can’t tell you the number of conservative students (including religious conservatives) I’ve talked to who refuse to stand up to blatantly unlawful acts on campus, not because they believe the university is doing the right thing but because they are afraid of poor grades, or criticism, or a bad law school recommendation.

Keep in mind that this reluctance to stand up comes at the same time that other members of their generation are coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan horribly wounded or in body bags, courageously defending rights that their peers refuse to exercise because they are afraid of a bad grade. It’s sad, really.

Thankfully, not everyone gives in to their fears.