Students at Auburn University taking "Crime and Justice in America" are learning queer criminology, which includes lessons on radical gender ideology that contradict Alabama's definition of sex, critical race theory —the notion that the Black Lives Matter movement has been a positive influence on the nation and other progressive theories on race and racism. Of the course material reviewed, 100% were progressive with ideological talking points.
According to Auburn's course description, students will learn the "Distribution and measurement of crime, different variations in criminal behavior, and handling crime in the American criminal justice system."
An Auburn parent shared their student's experience with the class, saying their goal was not to hurt the university, adding, "I believe in Auburn and love it."
"We fully understand that divisive, Marxist lies are bad for our respective schools and students," the parent said before sharing copies of concerning reading assignments and quizzes used to reinforce with 1819 News. The parent, who asked not to be identified out of fear of repercussions for the student, described "an online class with this garbage masquerading as learning."
The required reading, as well as all quizzes and writing assignments, is taken from the book "Criminal (In)justice," by Aaron Fichtelberg.
In a letter from Fitchtelberg to professors using his book, he is clear about his views on politics and how he perceives conservative students.
"Many students, particularly those from privileged or conservative backgrounds, are deeply committed to the traditional values of criminal justice and are often very reluctant to abandon them," he said. "They believe that the police are almost always a force of law and order and that the criminal justice system generally does what's right when it comes to the 'bad guys.' Abandoning that worldview is uncomfortable and difficult for many students."
According to him, "The criminal justice system is a tool for maintaining an unequal, unjust social order."
The textbook shows students are being taught, "Critical race theory looks at how society, and in particular the criminal justice system, oppresses Black Americans and other racial and ethnic minority groups. American criminal justice has been one of the most effective tools at preventing Black Americans from succeeding in the United States. Clearly, the overpolicing and overincarceration of Black Americans, particularly young, Black men, help keep Black Americans below the federal poverty threshold and marginalized."
The concerned parent said, "I've read Voddie Baucham's book, 'Fault Lines,' so I understand that CRT is a Marxist ideology full of lies that seeks to divide the populace. Higher learning is supposed to be a pursuit of Truth. All sides can be presented and real data discussed in pursuit of the truth, but that is not what's happening in this class."
"This curriculum should be scrapped, and this professor investigated to see if she's engaging in a pattern of propagandizing her students instead of facilitating the pursuit of Truth," the parent explained.
There is a section devoted to "Queer Criminology," which includes a lesson based on radical gender ideology that seeks to undermine innate and biological sex differences. A question later appeared on a quiz that reinforced this lesson and its definitions.
The professor of the class at Auburn was featured just last week by the university in a social media post, which said, "Her research focuses on racial and ethnic disparities in federal drug sentencing and innovations in teaching and learning."
Alabama law specifically protects students from "course work that advocates for or requires assent to a divisive concept." Included in the definition of divisive concepts is "That, by virtue of an individual's race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity, or national origin, the individual is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or subconsciously."
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