Keep free speech civil

On Wednesday, Oct. 4, demonstrators from two Columbia student groups — the International Socialist Organization and the Chicano Caucus — stormed the stage at a College Republicans-sponsored event featuring the founder of the Minuteman Project, a controversial group which patrols the United States-Mexico border for illegal immigrants. This ignited a brawl which ended the event itself but raised larger, more enduring issues. An exact account of who hit whom has not yet been produced, but as the Columbia Daily Spectator concluded, the primary responsibility lies with the demonstrators and their recourse to violent, "mob-rule activism."

We feel somewhat secure that such events do not often occur at Princeton — though we have noted exceptions on several occasions. Both Columbia and its student body, by comparison, have a history of legitimizing authoritarian behavior under the guise of free speech. Recent instances include School of International and Public Affairs Dean Lisa Anderson's recent speaking invitation (later rescinded) to the President of Iran — well known for his own crackdowns on free speech — the intimidation of a Jewish student by a professor as substantiated by an ad hoc grievance committee composed of faculty and, most recently, the mob violence at the Minutemen speech. All three instances seem to flow directly from the student takeover of Columbia in 1968. Columbia worked for many years to regain much of the reputation it had before 1968, and we hope that it will similarly be able to overcome these recent events.

Though Princeton does not appear to have this problem, we hope that liberal and conservative discourse on this campus does not get taken over by radicals who are so focused on their own ideologies that they are unwilling to permit others to exist, as has happened at Columbia. Instead, we look forward to strong liberal opposition to groups like the Minutemen which recognizes the inherent value of free speech. The 1960s bequeathed universities a mixed legacy of greater pluralism, equality and diversity but also greater libertinism, shrillness of debate and polarization. For this reason we applaud Columbia president Lee Bollinger for taking a strong stand against the actions of the protestors.

Let us end by invoking the section "Peaceful Dissent, Protests, and Demonstrations" of our own University's much underappreciated guide to norms of conduct — Rights, Rules, and Responsibilities: "The right of free speech in a university also includes the right to acts of peaceful dissent, protests in peaceable assembly, and orderly demonstrations ... until they disrupt regular and essential operations of the University or significantly infringe on the rights of others, particularly the right to listen to a speech or lecture." We urge President Tilghman, like Bollinger, to take a strong stand against those who would violate these guidelines, and we urge our fellow students to take Rights, Rules, and Responsibilities seriously. No academic community can function without public virtue and the standards of conduct that it imposes.