The Llano colonist. [volume] (Llano, Calif.) 191?-1937, 1922-05-20
ACADEMIC FREEDOM


American institutions Of learning
are usually controlled by boards of
trustees = > = It'thsrefore becomes ne
cessary to inquire into the nature of the
trust reposed in these boards. and to
ascertain to whom the trustees are to
be considered accountable.
The simplest case is that of pro-
prietary school or college designed for
the propagation of specific doctrines.
8 1t is evident that in such cases
the trustees are bound by the deed of
gift. - If church 8 : establishes a
college = : with the express under
Standing that the college will be used
as an instrument Of propaganda in the
interests Of the religions faith profess
ed by the church : ! the trustees have
a right to demand that everything Be-
subordnated to that end. If, again,
as happened in this country, a wealthy
manufacturer str5lishes special
school in university IN order TO teach
among other things the advantages Of
a protective tariff, or if, as is also the
case, an institution has been endowed
for the purpose of propagating the doc
trines Of, socialism, the situation is an
alogous. All ct these are essentially
proprietary institutions in the moral
sense"
! They constitute private or pro-.
prietary trust" other institutions CON
stitute a public trust : Any university
which lays restrictions upon the intel
lectual freedom of its professors pro-
claims itself a proprietary institution
and should be so described whenever
it makes a general appeal for funds. .
3 . There are boards (of trustees)
which leave nothing to be desired : :
but there are also numerous bodies that
have everything to learn with regard
to academic freedom. These barbar-
Gus boards exercise an arbitrary power
of dismissal. They exclude from the
teachings of the university unpopular
or dangerous subjects.
The function Of professional s5hoI-
ars is to impart the results of their
i Investigations and reflection both
to students and to the general public
without fear or favor. : > University
teachers should be understood to be,
with respect to the conclusions reached
and expressed by them, no more sub
ject to the ccstrol Of the trustees than
are judges subject to the control of
the President with respect to their de-
cisions; while, of course for the same
reason, trustees are no mora to be he'd
responsible for, or to be presumed to
agree with, the opinions O. utterances
of professors than the President cen be
be assumed to approve of all the le-
gal reasonings Of the courts . -
There are three fields of human IN
curry in which the race is only begin
ming: natural science, social science.
and philosophy and religion. . : In all
these demains of knowledge, the fist
condition Of progress is complete and
unlimited freedom to pursue inquiry
end publish its results. 3 . .
The most serious difficulty in the
way of such freedom is the existence
in democracy of an overpowering and
concentrated public opinion. The ten
dency of modern democracy is fov men
to think alike. to feel alike and to
speak alike Any departure from the
conventional standards is apt to be re-
garded with suspicion. = : = in de-
mocracy there is political freedom but
there is likely to be the tyranny of pub
lie opinion
Ar inviolable refuge from such tyr
amy should be found in the university.
1t should be an intellectual experiment
station, where new ideas may germin-
ate and where their fruit, though still
distasteful to the community as
whole. may be allowed to ripen, until
finally, perchance. it may become
part Of the accepted intellectual food
of the nation or the world. Not less
is it distinctive duty of the university
to be the conservator of all genuine
elements of value in the past thought
and life Of mankind which are not in
the fashion of the moment.-The New
Student.