America's Newspapers

Disputes can lead to the free exchange of ideas and to the cultivation of an open dialogue.

David Shi

Great universities are often crossroads of controversy -- as they should be. True, controversies can be unpleasant; they unleash passions, inflame rhetoric, foster misrepresentations and generate anger.

The most contentious campus controversies center on visiting speakers or performers. Some topics, such as sexual orientation, gender roles, race relations and social class, are especially volatile because they can excite visceral reactions rather than measured reflection. Yet it is precisely these sorts of incendiary issues that are often most deserving of discussion and examination. A university's mandate is not to insulate students from competing ideas but to expose them to competing ideas.

In this ferociously partisan age, militants on all sides of the political and cultural spectrum sometimes insist that universities deny access to visiting individuals and groups they deem too provocative. At Furman this month a small group of students has demanded that the university cancel an upcoming performance by a nationally prominent troupe known for its edgy satire and outrageous "drag" posturing. To these critics it does not matter that three student organizations followed correct procedures in booking the cabaret group and funding its performance, that attendance at the performance is voluntary, and that the call for censorship flies in the face of the university's longstanding commitment to freedom of speech and expression.

We will not cancel the upcoming event -- though censorship is often the first (and worst) impulse of those who feel ardently about galvanic issues. Such inflamed disputes can sometimes temporarily erode civility, but they can also be worthwhile for many reasons, not the least of which is that they offer opportunities to reaffirm our fundamental commitments to the free exchange of ideas and to the cultivation of a more diverse community. Controversy, in other words, can be one of our best teachers.

At the beginning of each academic year I address the new freshmen and try to prepare them for the distinctive experiences and values embedded in a liberal arts college. I alert them that learning is not painless.

By its very nature, a liberal arts college exposes students to new and sometimes discomforting ideas, beliefs, attitudes, events and personalities. It is critical to have a healthy mix of opinions and outlooks on a campus. In fact, Furman's official statement of its character and values declares that the university promotes "freedom of inquiry ... in an atmosphere free from provincial restrictions upon it."

Like a metropolitan newspaper, a learning community that promotes diversity of expression and differences in background -- ethnicity, geography, religion, sexuality -- is always vulnerable to criticism from partisans on the extremes. In recent years, we have been lambasted for hosting Newt Gingrich, Hillary Clinton, Dr. Bob Jones, Oliver North, Madeline Albright and Bob Inglis.

How well a university balances the competing claims of diversity is an index to its health. How well a college channels controversy into learning is a measure of its maturity. Most Furman students champion the free market of ideas and the value of living in an increasingly diverse community. Madison McClendon, a sophomore, wrote recently in the student newspaper that controversy "... is the best class we can take at Furman: how to cope with those who are different." He noted with remarkable insight and precocious maturity that "listening is rarely easy and learning never is."

McClendon's perspective reinforces Furman's rich tradition as a beacon of free expression. Over three decades ago, in 1970, Furman alumnus and trustee Clement Haynsworth, a graduate of Harvard Law School and a distinguished federal judge deemed too conservative by the Senate to sit on the Supreme Court, said that "no one has a right to shout down a speaker whom others wish to hear." He told Furman students that there would inevitably be "occurrences on this campus you deplore. There will be articles in the campus papers you do not like." But he concluded that protecting such controversial ideas and flamboyant forms of expression was a crucial aspect of higher education.

Over the centuries, American higher education has become distinctive for its quality, its diversity of institutions and its commitment to freedom of expression. It is in this context that Furman University will continue to be a place where the hardest questions are engaged, the most pressing issues confronted and different opinions and different students cherished -- and protected.

+David Shi is a historian, writer and president of Furman University. His campus address is 3300 Poinsett Highway, Greenville, SC 29613, or send e-mail to david.shi@furman.edu.