Despite my late arrival and lack of a reservation, I was able to attend the NYC Premier of Indoctrinate U.

[however, since I did arrive late, I missed the free pre-show hors d'oeuvres, wine and t-shirts. *sigh*]

You must see this movie! If you can't get to a showing, it's available online.

Indoctrinate U director and narrator Evan Coyne Maloney uses an ironic, often subtle sense of humor to contrast our idealized image of free-thinking university to the grim reality of current university life, where expressing ideas that are defined as conservative, or republican, is a de-facto crime punishable by harassment, theft, legal prosecution and even death threats.

After spending a few hours in the company of the communists and terror-supporters who make up our country's educational 'collective', I'm not surprised that free speech is so restricted, but I was surprised to see that these neo-Stalinist attitudes are so pervasive. 91 percent of campuses restrict student speech. Causing 'offense' to any left leaning special interest group on campus is prohibited. Brown University banned words that cause "feelings of impotence, anger, or disenfranchisement." The University of Connecticut has outlawed "inappropriately directed laughter." Colby College has banned any speech that could lead to a loss of self-esteem.

College life is supposed to be a smorgasbord of intellectual and philosophical varieties. But the edu-Stalinists have turned this smorgasbord into a Soviet-style grocery store, where students dutifully line up for moldy cabbage and some brown bread.

It's a grim subject, but Maloney lightens the tone with a series of imaginative contrasts. One example: at the University of Tennessee, five white students from Jackson attended an off-campus Halloween party dressed as "The Jackson Five," in costumes and dark makeup. When they were walking through the campus, they offended someone. As a result, the University de-certified the fraternity that hosted the party.

To illustrate the absurdity of this so-called political correctness, Maloney interviewed a very integrated bunch of people at what looked like Greenwich Village's Halloween Parade. Most in the very diverse and open minded crowd said they wouldn't be offended by white guys dressed as the Jackson 5. So let's just dispense with the illusion that this is about freedom or diversity.

Like any successful authoritarian regime, our modern universities keep their subjects supplied with entertainment to release the pressure valve. The Soviets may have had bread shortages, but vodka and cigarettes could usually be found. University students are still encouraged to indulge their impulses. They're even allowed to be as offensive as they want to be - as long as they're being offensive towards our military recruiters. Maloney stood with the recruiters and filmed students taking political action - mostly a lot of bratty shouting, foot stomping and bird-flipping.

Can you imagine what would have happened if students at Columbia had treated Ahmadinejad as rudely as they treated our own soldiers or the MinuteMen? The fact that it never occurred to anyone in that crowd of New Yorkers to even give the acknowledged enemy of everything we stand for the finger - and the fact that educators objected to Bollinger's mild criticism of this fascist shows just how effective this brainwashing has become.

FIRE, an organization whose mission is to "defend and sustain individual rights at America's colleges and universities" was featured often in Indoctrinate U. Like Maloney, FIRE often points out the contrasts between genuine free speech and university-inflicted political correctness.

Maloney's conclusion: if Americans want to bring free speech back to our universities, we're going to have to tell them 'no justice, no peace.'

From what I've seen of the power structure in academia, while students and non-tenured faculty have some power to bring about change, the alumni and various donors have more influence. The parents who are paying tuition can also make their voices heard. A donation to FIRE, buying a copy of Indoctrinate U will help spread the word. As NYU's defenders of collective "academic freedom" were so quick to point out, even the hard-core commies know it's all about the benjamins.

[edited for clarity]