Letters______________
2________
Opinion
WedNEsdAy, M ay 10, 2000
All signed letters to the editor should be 500 words or less and will be
considered for publication if submitted by 1 p..m. the Friday prior to
publication. Letters to the Editor arc subject to editing. We reserve the
right to not publish any letter.
Academic freedom has taught balance of rights
SALENA DE LA CRUZ
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Opinion Editor
hat lessons have we
learned in our fight for
academic freedom for stu
dents and instructors?
Yesterday, students and faculty
packed into Gregory Fo
rum to try to answer these
questions. The hope was
to see how we have ad
vanced since the fight for
academic freedom began.
It began in January, in a
classroom, where the Ho
locaust was discussed.
The words echoed off the
walls as students took in
the statement, “you are
better off dead than being
homosexual.” The ‘politi
cally
incorrect’
instructor’s comments
sparked campus debate
about both students’ and
faculty rights. The issues
progressed with argu
ments, letters, media cov
erage, and sides clashing.
A vigil for tolerance was
held. Academic freedom
versus prejudiced opin
ion? The instructor took an early re
tirement. Passion hindered? Freedom
subdued? The campus divided and
the questions remained unanswered.
The debate continued when a piece
of artwork was considered outra
geous, a little out of the norm. It was
considered anti-Catholic; anti-mean
ing against; which raises questions
that if the artist has a Catholic back-
ground should he have the right
to question that religion as he ex
periences it. We as students, com
munity members and faculty saw
fit to question that artwork, but as
I see it what they were question
ing was our own interpretation—
get your minds out of the gutter,
people.
Therefore, what have we
learned this year as questions
about academic freedom continue
being raised?
I think we’ve learned a lot, but I
think what we’ve learned we’ve
always known and just never
thought about. We learned in
structors have a certain power.
We’ve learned that saying the
wrong thing in class can, maybe,
make that power dangerous. We
have learned there is a balance that
needs to be found; a balance which
does not separate students from fac
ulty. Another lesson, perhaps the
most important, is that each of us
has responsibility to ourselves--re-
sponsibility to know what each of
us deems acceptable in our own
eyes.
Words are rights, freedoms. Art
is a form of expression, of freedom.
Being outrageous is acceptable to
some, but out of the question to
others. Do not try to change others'
emttious about proverbs or
ifleas. Talk’about your differ-
ences,”tftgu& anctraise questions.
You may not tferighfc t||ey may
not be right, but at least it is out
in the open.
The only way
for us to move for
ward is to learn from
our mistakes and
continue to question
academic freedom
because then and
only then can we
have a balance.
“Freedom to teach
and freedom to learn
are inseparable fac
ets of academic free
dom,” according to
the Student Hand
book. Therein lies
the answer. We had
it all along. We must
be balanced in our
arguments by being
free to learn and free
to teach.
We can all accept
that the reason we are
all diverse is because
we don’t agree. We may not agree,
but we can learn more from each
other by discussing it, in this case
academic freedom. Then and only
then can we compromise and come
up with solutions to make Clacka
mas a better place to learn and teach.
So speak out, you have the right.
Now you know that you can also
question and argue your point.
'My integrity is all I have*
This letter is in reference to a piece that
appeared last week in Letters to the
Editor... After work I sat down to read
the paper and was shocked to see my
name listed at the bottom of one of the
letters. The reason I was shocked, was
because I did not write the letter, nor
was I shown this letter or even told
about the letter. This issue has been
addressed and has been recognized as a
mistake by the party who chose to use
my name without my permission. I
need to say that my integrity is all I
really have and my name is a symbol of
that integrity. I do not use words lightly
nor do I sign my name to those words
without sincere consideration.
Julie Smith
Student
'Vote for Bryan Fuentez'
If you know what I have stood
for this entire year then you know
that you can trust my judgment.
Elections are just around the corner
and there are some respectable can
didates that are running for ASG
president and vice-president. I have
some knowledge of all the candidates.
From everything I know I have de
cided to endorse Bryan Fuentez for
ASG president. I have known Bryan
for some years and I believe he is
the best candidate for the job. He
also has knowledge of the responsibili
ties of president because last year he
was the vice president. Bryan is a great
leader and will look out for your needs.
If you trust anything I said and did for
you this year then help me out this once.
I know he is the right person for the job.
Vote Bryan Fuentez for ASG president
on May 1 land 12. I know I will.
James Gould
ASG President
Speak Out
Where it I
Matters!
Write to The Clackamas Print, 500 words or
less on disk and bring it to B104 or e-mail it
to cccprint@clackamas.cc.or.us
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