September 2001
May 19, 2001
SAFS is pleased to present
the Furedy Academic Freedom Award to Julie Bosman who today is graduating
at the University of Wisconsin at Madison with a diploma in journalism.
You will all be familiar with Julie from her article in the Wall Street
Journal (reprinted in the April SAFS newsletter) defending, as editor-in-chief,
the student newspaper The Badger Herald’s publication (in February this
year) of David Horowitz’ ad arguing against reparations for slavery in
the United States.
Julie was nominated for the
award by SAFS’ board member Harvey Shulman, our inveterate and invaluable
scanner of the web for news relating to academic freedom. Harvey immediately
recog-nized the independence and courage represented by Julie’s defence
of freedom of speech and wrote congratulations to her before making his
nomination to the Board.
In nominating Julie Bosman,
Harvey said SAFS was heartened by her courageous and scrupulous actions
in advocating free speech and a free press.
To quote from the Board’s
letter to her: “Your steadfastness has precipitated a major debate in universities
and the media, and we believe you have been a catalyst for reflection and
consideration in the academy by those who have, regrettably, failed to
distinguish between free and open discussion of ideas and those who defer
to the ‘politics of comfort’ and countenance censorship.”
Our certificate says: In
exercising her duties as editor-in-chief at the University of Wisconsin-Madison,
Julie Bosman has demonstrated exemplary commitment to those core values
of the academy that the Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship seeks
to uphold. We are particularly pleased to see a young student paper editor
receive this award, at a time when we think that far too many such editors,
to say nothing of faculty and university administrators, are caving in
to pressure for political correctness on campuses. As we have seen in the
case of the York University law school student paper Obiter Dicta recently,
this pressure is a menacing presence in Canada.
The latest development in
this issue on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus is that 70 members
of the Administration, including the Dean of Students, placed a counter-advertisement
in The Badger Herald this month. It castigated the editors, called the
publication of the ad ‘destructive’ of a welcoming climate in the university,
said the First Amendment is an obstacle to education and warned students
to be more careful in asserting their freedoms. This was an astounding
and intimidating gesture. It provided the opportunity for the editors to
again speak out: “Universities should be places where students are exposed
to a diversity of thought. What the Administration does not seem to understand
is that ideas are meant to be debated, not indoctrinated.”
Julie Bosman is remarkable
for her clear-sighted understanding of freedom of speech, her calm resolve
in defending her views, and her personal bravery (she was willing to face
an angry mob but campus police intervened). We congratulate her and wish
her well in her future career.
Help us maintain freedom in teaching, research and scholarship by joining SAFS or making a donation.
