Comments on: Free Speech: When?

By: Law od Attraction

Law od Attraction — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:07:29 +0000

I agree also in everything that we speak is our responsibility because it comes from our own decision even if we say that you just heard it from this person yet still you choose to spoke about it.

By: The Lokapala

The Lokapala — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 16:04:59 +0000

I would have to agree 100% with Ron’s comment at the end of Professor Schizer’s statement, and I hope we will apply the same standards of “intellectual honesty” and “academic standards” with regard to the selection of our commencement speakers in the future.

By: susan

susan — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 16:53:31 +0000

I agree with your position, but I’m not even sure that free speech is the issue. Ahmadinejad did have freedom of speech here (unlike his fellow citizens in Iran). He was free to speak in the street, shout from the rooftops and mouth off to the press. But Columbia shouldn’t have given him the honor of an invitation and a podium. And while he did expound on some of his despicable beliefs, he kept it very mild in comparison to what he has said in Iran. Predictably, Columbia students were treated to a cleaned up version of Ahmadinejad intended to make him seem not so bad.

By: Joy Pile

Joy Pile — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 16:25:16 +0000

The whole event from Bollinger’s discourteous introduction to Mr. Ahmadinejad’s speech, that was little more than propaganda, reflected badly on higher education. What we sorely need is for both those in Iran and the US to end the shouting match across the chasm and instead engage in some thoughtful listening and dialogue.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 02:26:37 +0000

This is all well and good, but how does an community–like Middlebury–determine whether a particular example of free speech is intellectually honest? Who serves as gatekeeper? The administration?