Well, I was just trying to give campus activists their due. Like anyone else, an academic may be more or less motivated by personal conviction and/or by ideas. Some disciplines (social sciences) seem to call for a more hands-on, "in the world" approach more than others, which emphasize theory more (mathematics, philosophy). But then there are the theoretical people in "hands-on" fields, and the "hands-on" people in theoretical fields. So actually, I'm not saying much here--just acknowledging, after describing what might make academics a bit reticent about CoS abuses, that some academics may be more inclined than others to promote political views. I know some religious studies people who are activists, but there are also those who are just more interested in researching the intricacies of history or theology/philosophy. And the culture on most campuses, I think, supports a truly skeptical, questioning approach. So, ideally, a perceived cynic would be challenged in much the same way as a true believer.
The number of qualifications and the amount of backtracking in this post is an indication of the situation I'm describing! People who reflect a lot sometimes are disinclined to take strong positions.
