Why hasn Duke reprimanded faculty members whove voiced criticisms related to the lacrosse team?
Duke is a university, and one of the greatest strengths of universities is their commitment to free speech and academic freedom. Faculty, students and other members of a university community are all free to express their opinions; indeed, they are encouraged to do so. Universities must remain committed to free speech, even when it makes others uncomfortable. The appropriate response to an opinion is not to suppress it but to respond with one’s own views and evidence. At times when emotions are running high, as during the lacrosse incident, faculty simultaneously should take care to “provide our students with a classroom climate characterized by the respect and sensitivity necessary to foster their understanding and growth” – a point that Duke’s dean of arts and sciences, Bob Thompson, made in an April 3, 2006 letter to the faculty. The university’s senior academic officer, Provost Peter Lange, made a similar point to the Arts and Sciences Council in January 2007, saying, “When we hear
