Faculty has right, duty to offer opinions

Academics are often accused of living in an ivory tower of
ephemeral debate and abstract thinking with little connection to
the real world. Yet, when the UCLA Academic Senate voted Monday to
officially oppose preventive war, a public argument erupted over
the right of professors to display overtly political opinions.

Dozens wrote letters to the Daily Bruin, expressing
dissatisfaction and sometimes outrage that UCLA’s faculty
would make such a statement. One student called the senate
“out of line and unprofessional.” Another said the
faculty acted with “distasteful disregard of the
university’s responsibility to provide students with a safe
learning environment.” Many parents of K-12 children wrote in
and said their children would never set foot on the UCLA
campus.

The criticism spewed toward UCLA’s faculty did not concern
controversy about whether there was a quorum when the vote took
place; most people actually questioned whether faculty should be
permitted a voice to address political topics. The thought that
professors should not be able to is a frightening assault on their
academic freedom and society’s open exchange of ideas. If
esteemed faculty at one of the finest public universities in the
world can’t speak up, who can?

Critics of the “political professors” must remember
university professors are not hired simply to be walking
encyclopedias. At a university such as UCLA, there is a fundamental
expectation that professors should be able to distill core
conclusions from their knowledge and research ““ conclusions
that often carry political implications. Since it is a chief duty
of universities to vigorously question the status quo, faculty
should feel unafraid and, indeed, compelled to offer their
input.

With the freedom to express political opinion, however, comes
the ability to abuse that freedom. Professors should remember their
primary role is to teach, not preach. Teaching does involve
personal interpretation and analysis ““ and that’s
OK. When faculty members recklessly advance the cause of one
political agenda or another, disallowing room for critical
questions, either by themselves or their students, however, that is
not OK.

Equally wrong are those who would deny professors the right to
ask critical questions themselves. Universities have historically
served to both moderate extreme policies and foment needed change
through such exploration.

During the Vietnam War, university faculty, along with students,
were among the first in the nation to condemn a war that would
later be condemned by most of the country. In the previous decade,
faculty members who challenged McCarthyism, particularly its
manifestations on college campuses, were key in exposing many
anti-communist policies that threatened expression and academic
freedom. Some of those faculty members were labeled subversive
themselves, losing their jobs while standing up for a broader
cause.

Today, the UCLA community should be proud our professors were
one of the first in the nation to take a stand officially
questioning preventive war in Iraq. Those afraid of an environment
where educated individuals feel free to offer their opinions
without self-censorship ““ an environment that challenges
assumptions, be they political, cultural or academic
““ should steer clear of UCLA.

But those who are here should be proud their faculty is involved
in the debate and cherish that universities offer environments
unlike any other in the world.