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Earlier this week, I sent a guide on policy surrounding the First Amendment and Academic Freedom. Since open discussion and intellectual pursuit are such integral parts of the college environment, it seems appropriate to expand on those themes in today's message.
As an economist at heart, I am partial to John Stuart Mill's conception of the "marketplace of ideas." I shared this early on in my time with the Coast District. I am also partial to Justice Louis D. Brandeis' opinion in the memorably named (for me at least) case of Whitney v. California (1927), in which he wrote: "If there be time to expose through discussion, the falsehoods and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence."
That standard is less forgiving than it might appear at first glance. There is an obligation implied to speak up against bigotry, prejudice, and hate. In education, we seek to expose "falsehoods and fallacies" with qualitative and quantitative data. Even our best attempts are imperfect when it comes to understanding lived experiences within our human-created systems, as many critical theories have worked to expose in more recent academic movements.
It is my opinion that to embrace a life of academic and scholarly pursuits requires a level of critical humility. Openness to counterargument implies a healthy skepticism of one's own position. This is why our rules can sometimes be used to protect speech you or I may perceive as obnoxious, rude, and intolerant. Not because we believe every utterance to be right or just, often far from it. We establish rules that favor speech in most cases, academic freedom in most cases, because it is necessary for the generation of new theses and emergent ideas.
As we enter a time of heightened political passions and strong opinions, please know that the expectation is not, nor should it be, silence. We have rules to allow our continued educational mission, avoid undue operational disruption, prevent harassment, and provide for privacy and safety, yet – apart from those boundaries – speech is one of our highest functions.
With gratitude,
Whitney
Whitney Yamamura, Ed.D.
Chancellor
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Monday, January 15, is a districtwide observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Colleges and the District Office are closed. May we all celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King in our continuing efforts to make true his belief in an "arc of the moral universe" that "bends toward justice."
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