Dear Friends and Alumni,

Our Boulder campus recently hosted Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor, now a fugitive in Russia. He appeared via videoconference at Macky Auditorium.

Before and after, I received emails and calls, mostly criticizing us for hosting Snowden. To some, he's a traitor. Yet to others, he's a patriot. A number of people wanted to hear him before deciding.

To me, the event exemplifies what we are about as a university: a forum for ideas, fostering discussion and debate on topics that sometimes are offensive, uncomfortable or controversial. Snowden's appearance demonstrated that freedom of expression is not just a concept at our university; it is an abiding institutional commitment.

The Laws of the CU Board of Regents spell out our approach, noting that "All members of the academic community have a responsibility to protect the university as a forum for the free expression of ideas." In doing so, the document continues, "The fullest exposure to conflicting opinions is the best insurance against error."

We stress critical thinking to encourage students to examine the foundations of a belief – the facts, the science, the history. We must present a balance of ideas, then let students employ critical thinking to form their own opinions.

Yet recent examples from across the country challenge that notion. Speakers have been shouted down by groups angry about their ideas. Faculty and administrators have been criticized for advocating for the historic protection of free expression on university campuses. Commencement speakers are rejected because of their politics or their worldview.

We must renounce such tactics. It is only through open discussion that ideas get a proper airing. Free speech and freedom of inquiry are central to our university, a primary reason we exist. For more than 50 years, the United States Supreme Court has upheld this principle: "The nation's future depends upon leaders trained through wide exposure to that robust exchange, which discovers truth" from many voices, rather than only a few.

The other movement getting national traction is ensuring that everyone is comfortable on campus, and that speech or ideas do not offend. While the values embodied in the Laws of the Regents envision CU as a welcoming community inviting reasoned debate, we should not be the guardians of people's feelings. Sometimes debate is decidedly uncomfortable, but we can and should create an environment that allows for that. In the real world, being offended and hearing things you may not want to hear is part of life. And that real world is what we are preparing our students for.

We must not limit discussion because some (and sometimes the majority) find it offensive, bone-headed, obnoxious or just plain wrong. Freedom of speech is grounded in the principle that ideas must compete on their merit.

Yet as is the case with the First Amendment, free speech on university campuses has limits. Speech cannot break the law, unreasonably disrupt the learning environment or workplace, be used to threaten or harass. Libel and slander have no special protections. Nor does speech that unjustifiably invades privacy. The Laws of the Regents remind us that the rights of free speech also impose responsibilities. The freedom of both faculty and students "to learn, to do research, and communicate the results of these pursuits to others" is the highest calling of a university, and those freedoms flourish most when part of a civil dialogue.

Education's prime imperative is to develop students into critical thinkers, not to shelter them from all the challenges that come with free speech, debate and dissent. The real world can impart harsh consequences for certain speech and ideas. Creating an environment that welcomes and values free speech, debate and dissension is an invaluable benefit the university provides.

The world is filled with people who strongly disagree with others on issues of both great and small importance. The university is a microcosm of our society, so it is our obligation to continue to be a place that embodies the critical functions of free speech and open inquiry.

For feedback, contact officeofthepresident@cu.edu

Sincerely,

Bruce Benson
President