U NIVERSITY of Texas journalism professor Robert Jensen has dis- covered the limits of intellectual freedom. In an op-ed piece published in the Houston Chronicle, he contended that the United States had engaged in its own type of terrorist activities in the past. Jensen was condemned by the University of Texas president in a letter, and this has raised the issue of professors' right to speak their minds. It is important, especially on college campuses, to preserve the right of free speech in the aftermath of the horror of Sept. 11.
Jensen's article created a controversy at the University of Texas. In the article he compared past acts of American aggression to terrorist attacks and listed Vietnam, Chile and Iraq as examples of this ("U.S. just as guilty of committing own violent acts," Houston Chronicle, Sept. 14). Larry R. Faulkner, president of the University of Texas, received e-mails and telephone calls from angry alumni who blamed him and the university for allowing someone like Jensen to be employed at the school, and people even threatened to withhold donations from the school.
Faulkner responded by writing a letter to the Houston Chronicle in which he asserted Jensen's right to free speech, noted that Jensen did not speak for the university, and insulted Jensen. There are certainly no problems with the first two points. But Faulkner's other comments regarding Jensen bordered on extreme. Faulkner wrote that Jensen "is not only misguided, but has become a fountain of undiluted foolishness on the issues of public policy." This attack on Jensen was inappropriate because it threatened free speech.
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A University president holds a very important and influential job. Therefore, when a president criticizes one of his professors in public, it is quite serious. Luckily for Jensen, he is a tenured faculty member. But those without tenure would be risking a great deal to get on the wrong side of the president of their educational institution. A response such as the one Faulkner offered, in which he commented that he was "disgusted," by Jensen's article, creates an atmosphere where other professors will be less willing to speak their minds if they have controversial opinions to express.
In an e-mail interview, Jensen said that the University of Texas "is a relatively passive campus politically, even without the chilling effect of the letter. I think the episode indicated what a debased political and intellectual culture we live in. Reasoned arguments that contest power - which is what I think I offered - deserve engagement, not ridicule."
The Jensen case should have been handled better in a number of ways. Faulkner, who could not be reached for comment, should have written an academic piece in which he countered many of the assertions in Jensen's piece. If, for instance, Faulkner had pointed out the differences between the Vietnam War and the terrorist attacks, he would have made his case stronger. Simply calling people names when one disagrees with them does not serve to educate the public about the issues being raised.
Another possible solution would have been for Faulkner to get another professor to respond to Jensen. This way, it would seem more like an intellectual debate, rather than a university president trying to intimidate those who disagree with him and some university alumni.
The University of Virginia has been quite tolerant of the free speech of professors recently. Events such as the teach-ins certainly have allowed professors to share their views on the aftermath of Sept. 11. This is not to say that Jensen is correct in his article or that professors at this university are right all the time or even most of the time. But colleges and universities are educational institutions, and therefore professors must be allowed to share their views.
One of the reasons that the United States is so hated by many countries is because of our freedom. Americans can say whatever they want and not have to worry about the consequences. The concept that people would have this type of freedom is unheard of in many countries in the world, particularly in those of the majority of America's enemies. Now is the time to show the rest of the world the true values of the United States.
(Harris Freier's column appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached athfreier@cavalierdaily.com.)
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