It seems the administration at Dartmouth College, according to a report printed last week in the college’s newspaper, The Dartmouth, is worried that the use of funds by the school’s Spanish and sociology departments to pay for transportation for students attending anti-war protests will endanger their status as a tax-exempt entity.

The Dartmouth reported that “the two departments elected to provide between $100 and $200 in transportation costs after faculty members voted their support.” That is not a lot of money, but universities are meant to be a place for the free exchange of ideas, not political indoctrination factories where professors spend money that could be used for research or student services to serve a political agenda. College tuitions are high enough without using extra dollars to subsidize political causes of any stripe — particularly bus rides for those opposing freedom for Iraqis.

Once upon a time it was students occupying college buildings and accusing the schools of being part of the American power structure. Now the professors pay their students to go protest. It would not be surprising if those whose funding keeps Dartmouth going were to want to take a closer look at how their money is being spent.