In the current issue of Academe, Julie J. Kilmer describes the "feminist classroom" as one in which students "feel free to express how they feel and should gain trust and respect from others for doing so." But Kilmer, an associate professor of women's studies and religion at Olivet College, fears that this "collaborative learning experience" is threatened by new conservative groups like Students for Academic Freedom.

More than that, she feels unnerved in her role as teacher by the confrontational tactics of certain conservative students: "Each time a student is resistant to feminist theories and ideas, should I ask if he or she has been placed in my class to question my teaching?"

Mark Bauerlein isn't having it. Writing at Minding the Campus, the professor of English at Emory University finds "much to note in the panicky chill that descends upon this feminist professor and so many others." He considers Kilmer's essay the product of "the mindset of people who've nursed resentments for many years within the artificial havens of one-party departments, tenure, and a 30-week work year."