The Freedom to Offend

Acontroversy that erupted recently in a government class at Orange Coast College offers a lesson in academic freedom at a time of national crisis and a reminder that, as Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter once observed, the preservation of liberty is always closely related to the observance of procedural safeguards.

The facts of the flap remain contested and mired in emotions over terrorism and freedom. Four Muslim students say instructor Ken Hearlson called them “terrorists” and “murderers” in a class discussion. Hearlson denies that. He says he was speaking only about the terrorists and those who support them, not his students. He also apologized for remarks that he insisted were never intended to be personal and said that he regretted raising the subject of terrorism so close to the Sept. 11 attacks.

That didn’t end it. College President Margaret A. Gratton hastily put Hearlson on paid leave. She acknowledged that the move was unusual but defended it by saying that quick action was needed to defuse an incendiary situation. The suspension and its speed only fueled the controversy. Students are split. The faculty, alarmed that the college removed Hearlson without following its procedures and concerned about the threat to an instructor’s right to make controversial statements, has formed a task force to review Orange Coast’s academic freedom policy.

The college administration’s reaction was troubling. To put an instructor on leave without following established procedures for evaluating grievances sent a dangerous message to students, faculty and society. It could stifle the faculty’s desire to approach sensitive issues or voice controversial ideas. Students gain far too much power if all they have to do to get an instructor bounced is make an allegation. And how much faith can a community have in a learning institution that can’t handle deep and sensitive subjects? That is not to say the administration shouldn’t have disciplinary authority, but the facts should all be in before it acts. The instructors union should have had the opportunity to weigh in.

Personal attacks and name-calling have no place in any classroom. But some ideas will always offend some students. These are times when people with and without the authority to censor and discipline will scrutinize writers, teachers and others in the marketplace of ideas. Instructors in colleges and universities must be free to challenge students’ preconceived ideas. That’s the basis of true education.