Free Speech and Political Realities

A few years ago, extremists on the campus were trying to prevent students from listening to anyone who would defend U.S. policy in Southeast Asia. More recently the chief targets of such harassment have been speakers who claimed a genetic basis for academic failure and success. Such actions have, of course, disturbed believers in civil liberties. I share this traditional belief in the value of an open encounter among all opinions and have participated in faculty efforts to uphold the principl...