Bias in the Classroom at SLU, Continued

I just wanted to follow up on the whole bias in the classroom incident on my campus by noting that the academic dean and the president issued a campus-wide email today articulating their position on the whole affair. I quote below the relevant parts:

This memorandum has two goals: to remind us of our shared commitments as a university to freedom of speech and to the maintenance of a climate of open inquiry; and to put recent campus events and discussions surrounding the weblog of Prof. Robert Torres into that context.

....

St. Lawrence has a single purpose. As a liberal arts college we are a community of learners. Teaching and learning require unfettered thought, inquiry, and expression. A vital campus is one where ideas meet, mix, conflict, engage, and emerge changed by the interaction.

Genuine dialogue is a difficult, even fragile, human endeavor. It entails both speaking and listening, articulating views and earnestly considering those of others. We believe it is our duty to protect the rights of all members of our community to think and speak freely and to foster the conditions that make dialogue possible. We expect members of our community to be passionate about ideas; in fact, we would be troubled if they were not. But passion and commitment only serve our purpose to the extent that they promote lively engagement, not shut it down, to the extent that they foster compelling expression, not impede the capacity to listen.

To this end, we will continue both to defend the campus as a place of free inquiry and exchange and to encourage modes of discourse that respect the basic human dignity of all engaged in its mission. As members of a university, we all know how much words matter. Words can be chosen to open dialogue or to shut it down, to encourage thoughtful listening or strident counter-point.

There have been legitimate questions raised about Prof. Torres’ offensive characterizations of college Republicans in his weblog. Though not directed specifically at St. Lawrence students—it is clear from the context that he is referring to those who wrote the recruiting manual on the national level—it is reasonable for our own SLU Republicans to feel included in his characterizations.

In a statement Prof. Torres shared with the St. Lawrence community last Friday he made clear that he takes his “responsibility of fostering an open classroom environment seriously,” and that he seeks to “respect differing views regardless of political orientation.” He went on to say that: “I will continue to provide an open classroom environment, and continue to respect different political views. Freedom of speech and the room that it provides for dissent is essential to democracy and to critical inquiry.” That is exactly right, and we believe that view is at the very center of commitments all St. Lawrence University faculty share.

Although some of that is surely what they "have to" say, I do think they get it right: we must defend free speech but encourage modes of discourse that invite in, rather than shut out, and that respect rather than denigrate. Whether or not Prof. Torres can follow through on his commitment to an open classroom is one thing, but my dean's and president's defense of free speech and recognition of the problematic nature of the original blog entry remind me why I remain proud to be part of the administration of this particular university.