In our view, it's crucial to the public discourse of the state that our university system be encouraged to foster dialogue about controversial topics with the presumption of full academic freedom.
Sexual freedom is a topic that merits rigorous public investigation.
Ms. de Russy's reading of this event seems obviously to stem from her own ideological leanings, and her clear antipathy for frank discussions of sexual possibilities. Apparently agreeing with Ms. de Russy, the SUNY Board of Trustees has ignored an internal administrative review of the conference that exonerated President Bowen and that upheld the intellectual and educational legitimacy of the conference. The review found that the conference did constitute a contribution to the educational mission of the State University. By rejecting the internal report, the SUNY trustees do not just throw into question their commitment to academic freedom. Ms. de Russy's and Mr. Perez's salvos represent a threat to an academic governance system in which the ability of faculty to judge the competence of their own members is essential to the educational mission of the university.