"It is true that all of us are having a harder time talking to one another now than we had in the past, and that's true for colleges as well. What I deny is that colleges or the younger generation are doing worse in that kind of environment."
"Inviting noted political figures to campus who are very controversial can be a very valuable thing for people to do. Inviting people who are coming as provocateurs, I think, is a much less valuable thing to do."
U.S. colleges and universities have for the most part done a good job protecting and promoting campus discourse in recent years. They have not, however, escaped the divisions affecting institutions and communities across the country. There is a genuine civic crisis in America, and people are having a harder time talking to one another now than in the past, including on campuses. Managing campus tensions in real time includes addressing headline-grabbing student protests of speakers. Welcoming speakers who challenge the status quo can be valuable, while inviting provocateurs who seek to inflame conflict is less valuable. Faculty and students retain substantial freedom to invite speakers, but institutions must weigh the educational value of invitations against the risk of needless provocation.
Read at Harvard Gazette
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