I would not go so far as to say that issues related to freedom of thought and expression have tormented me since the notorious House Education and Workforce Committee hearing on December 5, 2023, where Elise Stefanik baited and befuddled the presidents of three prestigious universities whose responses have been widely panned on both sides of the great divide. We can wish that the presidents had acquitted themselves better in a hearing that was a fiasco for those who hold dear principles of free speech, academic and intellectual freedom, and the role of the university, but they came up short. As my old French teacher Marie Laure used to say, as we tried to understand correctly what she had asked and formulate a fitting response, “So whacha gon’ do?” This has been much on my mind in the days since the encounter between Stefanik and the three presidents, and a source of frustration as attempts to formulate my thoughts about it all keep falling back into the bog of cliche: a pox on all their fool houses. That is not good enough.
Thinking About Speech
Thinking About Speech
Thinking About Speech
I would not go so far as to say that issues related to freedom of thought and expression have tormented me since the notorious House Education and Workforce Committee hearing on December 5, 2023, where Elise Stefanik baited and befuddled the presidents of three prestigious universities whose responses have been widely panned on both sides of the great divide. We can wish that the presidents had acquitted themselves better in a hearing that was a fiasco for those who hold dear principles of free speech, academic and intellectual freedom, and the role of the university, but they came up short. As my old French teacher Marie Laure used to say, as we tried to understand correctly what she had asked and formulate a fitting response, “So whacha gon’ do?” This has been much on my mind in the days since the encounter between Stefanik and the three presidents, and a source of frustration as attempts to formulate my thoughts about it all keep falling back into the bog of cliche: a pox on all their fool houses. That is not good enough.