After filing three separate complaints since 2006 about biased lessons in university classrooms, Penn State student A.J. Fluehr has finally had all of them resolved.

Fluehr filed complaints alleging a liberal bias for three different classes -- BBH146 (Health and Human Sexuality), ENG 202A (Technical Writing) and CAS 100A (Effective Speech), said conservative author and political commentator, David Horowitz, who assisted with Fluehr's case. The last one was resolved in June.

All Fluehr's complaints were filed in the College of Liberal Arts. Two of Fluehr's complaints were dismissed; one was upheld.

"All of the complaints took several months. We were supposed to have meetings -- the administration claimed he filed too late and just threw a lot of obstacles at him," Horowitz said.

Blannie Bowen, vice provost for academic affairs, said the petitions were not filed in a timely manner because he filed after the course was over.

"They should be filed while the course is going on so there is time to resolve everything while the course is still being taught," he said.

Many students would not challenge a professor while being graded in the course, Horowitz said

"Once I got the appeal, it only took a month or so for me to resolve it. But a lot of time elapsed between the time [Fluehr] went to the department and came to me," Dean of Liberal Arts Susan Welch said.

Welch said Fluehr's cases were the first ones to rise to her level. Penn State's policy allows students to appeal to her, but many resolve problems by going to the professor or department head, she said.

Fluehr declined to comment about to the complaints or their resolutions.

Case One: CAS 100A, filed spring 2006

Fluehr gave a speech and displayed a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad that caused protests among Muslims in 2005 after being published in a Danish newspaper, according to Fluehr's complaint. Two students said the cartoon offended them; another student called Fluehr racist, Horowitz said.

The professor, Amber Walker, told Fluehr if he gave another offensive speech, she would be forced to lower his grade, Horowitz said. Walker did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

The complaint went to Welch after Fluehr could not resolve the issue with his professor or department head. Welch ruled in favor of Fluehr in February, Horowitz said.

"In conclusion to the complaint, the communications department will spend more time training TAs to work with students' speeches without limiting discussion and controversy," Bowen said.

Horowitz applauded Welch's decision.

"Penn State is the first university to protect students' rights in classroom, their academic speaking rights," Horowitz said, though he thinks the system is flawed.

Case Two: ENG202, filed May 2007

When his professor, Cynthia Mazzant, showed Al Gore's documentary An Inconvenient Truth, Fluehr argued he wasn't taking a class on climatology or environmental science but on social science, Horowitz said.

Fluehr filed the complaint because he felt the professor was trying to push an agenda about global warming, Bowen said. The professor, Spring Chenoa Cooper, wanted students to observe whether Al Gore was a credible source, Bowen said.

Welch did not uphold Fluehr's petition, resolved in April, because it was neither substantive nor accurate, Bowen said.

Case Three: BBH146, filed May 2007

Fluehr felt the instructor was slanting issues on abortion and other points, Bowen said.

The instructor also shouted during a lesson on abortion, "that's why it's a good thing Rick Santorum wasn't elected," Horowitz said.

"The instructor claimed he was repeating what a student said, but A.J. said that was false," he said.

The petition didn't have any merit because instructors weren't slanting content and were trying to be objective, Bowen said. Fluehr's petition was not upheld and was resolved in June, he said.

Other complaints filed

Another student, Abigail Beardsley (senior-English and philosophy), filed a complaint last semester in regard to a film shown in her French class in April.

Beardsley said her professor showed a section of the Michael Moore movie, Sicko, which she said had nothing to do with the class.

"It had no French in it and was strictly complaining about the American health system," she said. "He didn't give a reasoning for showing the clip, and the reason we got after was that it showed aspects of French culture -- but it wasn't relevant for the course."

The administration was fairly easy to work with and handled the case thoroughly, she said. She received a formal apology from her professor less than a month after the complaint was filed in May. The case did not go any higher, she said.

Though she could have appealed, she was ready to move on, Beardsley said. She added students probably don't file complaints because they don't know how.

"A.J. is the one who pointed me in the right direction. I didn't know a lot about it before he told me. I don't think students know they have the right to do this and expect if a professor says something they have to take it," she said.

Penn State's policies are difficult to navigate online, Beardsley said.

"If you have someone to advise you, it's doable," she added.

The university's position

The university has taken many steps to inform students of their rights and how to file complaints, Bowen said. Some information comes through the First-Year Testing, Counseling and Advising Program, Bowen said.

With more than 40,000 students taking at least three classes a semester and 8,000 faculty members, having complaints from two students in four classes is remarkable, Bowen said. He added the complaints are not as big of a deal as they are being portrayed.

"The faculty, students and the administration are trying to be as proactive as possible," he said. "Whether students feel comfortable or not, I can't answer, but we make it as easy as possible."

Bowen said he encourages students to file petitions when they feel there is bias in the classroom. There are few complaints of a serious nature, and most come down to philosophy and difference of opinion, he said.

"In terms of academic freedom for students, Penn State is one of the most active universities in addressing any problems," he said.