Not a peep from the professors at U of Prince Edward Island
by bacon & 2 other(s)How is one to account for the fact that when the administration at UPEI sent in the police to confiscate the copies of a recent edition of the student newspaper — even though no law had been broken — concern flooded in from across the country, filling up several pages of the Cadre; yet, not a single faculty member from UPEI, spoke out to question (or to defend) the action. What explanation can there be for this strange and unsavory silence? Whether or not they agree with the publishing of the cartoons, one might have expected that at least some of the professors would have cared sufficiently about the tradition of free speech to voice concern over the extremity of the administration’s response. Yet nothing. Not a peep. With a debate over censorship swirling above their heads, the only sound to be heard from the campus was faint rustling in the academic weeds. I recognize that as someone who no longer works for the university it is less threatening for me to speak about these matters than for some of my former colleagues. That, however, raises the question of whether the delicate balance of authority between professors and the administration has tipped in a manner that is not friendly to freedom of expression, or the practice of the liberal arts.