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Not censoring is not enough
Today's Washington Post reports on the return of the Sex Workers' Art Show to the College of William & Mary, where it has been highly controversial. But this time, there's a twist: At the behest of William & Mary president Taylor Reveley, this year's iteration will be accompanied by "a forum that would address the show and the issues it raises." This move seems to be along the lines of ACTA's recommendations in today's Philadelphia Inquirer, where we survey recent speaker-related controversies in Pennsylvania and urge universities to be more thoughtful about whom they bring in to speak.
In recent weeks, the Keystone State has seen a pair of kerfuffles in light of visits by Ward Churchill and William Ayers to public campuses. As often happens, the discussion over these speakers devolved into an argument over whether they should be disinvited or not -- and the presidents and deans involved have gone to great lengths to explain why they have let the invitations stand. As our op-ed points out, they were right not to disinvite these duly-invited guests. But their obligation to the public doesn't end there: The mere fact that they aren't censoring the speakers doesn't mean they are doing all they can to ensure students have access to a broad mix of ideas that is conducive to a real education.
That is why our op-ed urges universities to follow the lead of Bucknell University, whose administration has -- with the assistance of donors -- taken bold steps to bring in a number of high-profile experts with diverse views, including ACTA friend David McCullough. We also suggest that administrators should simply collect information on the speaking invitations issued by other campus constituencies, so that they can augment those offerings with other perspectives that might be missing. One idea we proffer: If Ward Churchill is on his way, convene a faculty panel the next night on academic responsibility.
Posted by Charles Mitchell on March 23, 2009 at March 23, 2009 05:48 PM
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