Libertades Academicas-California
Por Matt Murray - Friday, Mar. 11, 2005 at 4:45 PM

As you know, I believe the concept of academic freedom provides one of the most important foundations of the modern research university, and I am glad to see you and the Academic Senate devote the necessary care and thought required to update our policy.

September 2, 2003

Richard C. Atkinson, President
University of California Office of the President
1111 Franklin Street, 12th Floor
Oakland, CA 94607-5200

Re: Academic Freedom

Dear President Atkinson,

Thank you very much for your detailed letter and explanation of the proposed revisions to the university's policy on academic freedom. As you
know, I believe the concept of academic freedom provides one of the most important foundations of the modern research university, and I am glad to
see you and the Academic Senate devote the necessary care and thought required to update our policy. As a student representative to the Academic
Freedom Committee of the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate two years ago, I recognized, along with the other members of the committee, the
inadequacy of our current policy in providing a solid foundation for difficult decisions regarding when and how the concept of academic freedom
should be invoked. I believe the proposed revision, by clearly recognizing the source of academic freedom in the professional autonomy of the faculty,
will do a great deal to both clarify and strengthen such an important yet often misunderstood concept.

There remains, however, one aspect of academic freedom over which we do not have any clearly delineated policy: the academic freedom of students. The proposed revision to APM 010 and the Regents Policy on Academic Freedom from 1970 both refer to the importance of providing students the assurance
that they may speak freely in the classroom without fear that their grades or progress toward a degree will suffer due to a disagreement of a political, religious, or philosophical nature with their professors. Our UC Policies Applying to Campus Activities, Organizations, and Students similarly delineate the rights of students to freely express themselves in
class. The Faculty Code of Conduct (AMP 015) states that one of the responsibilities professors have to their students is that "They protect their academic freedom."

My research leads me to the conclusion, however, that we do not have clear policies concerning the rights and responsibilities of students when they
engage in research, teaching, and publication - those core activities of the faculty that require the protection of academic freedom.

The revised AP 010 states "The principles of academic freedom protect freedom of inquiry and research, freedom of teaching, and freedom of
expression and publication." Faculty members are not the only members of the university community who engage in these activities. As research assistants, teaching assistants, independent studies participants, and in a variety of other capacities, students (especially, but not exclusively, graduate students) engage in research, teaching, and publication
extensively on every campus, and it is the responsibility of the university to clearly lay out the rights and responsibilities we expect of students
when in these roles.

Clearly the roles of a teaching assistant and a tenured faculty member are distinct. The rights and responsibilities of each are not and should not be
identical. At the same time, the reasoning presented in the proposed revision of APM 010 must inevitably lead us to the conclusion that students do enjoy some distinct level of academic freedom in their roles as researchers, teachers, and authors of publications beyond their freedom to be treated fairly in the classroom. I see three core principles that could
serve as sources of the academic freedom of students, much as the professional autonomy of the faculty serves as the source of their academic
freedom.

First, Professor Post's comments on his draft revision of APM 010 state his belief that the role of academic freedom in teaching does not merely protect the dissemination of knowledge from faculty to student, but rather it "also depends on the need to attain the distinct educational objective, characteristic of universities, of fostering in our students the ability to
think for themselves as mature adults." As you say in your paper, one of the primary roles of a research university is to "instill independence of mind" in its students. Such an independence of mind cannot be instilled if students are not granted some level of freedom in their researching, teaching, and publishing activities.

Second, another important role of the university is to prepare students to become future faculty members. We cannot reasonably expect students to develop core academic values of open inquiry and thought without experience with the kinds of rights and responsibilities they will assume once they become full members of the faculty.

Third, the core university goal of discovering and disseminating new knowledge is achieved through the efforts of faculty members and students alike when they conduct research, teach classes, and publish new discoveries. Much of the same reasoning that leads us to believe that the faculty require the protection of academic freedom for the university to
fulfill this core mission should lead us to a similar conclusion for students engaged in work similar to that of the faculty. Faculty and students alike should not fear that they will be victimized for politically
unpopular research, teaching, or publications they undertake in the pursuit of new knowledge.

The question of the development of standards for student academic freedom remains open. I would suggest, however, that the development of those
standards should be undertaken by the faculty and the students together. I wholeheartedly agree with your conclusion that the faculty should be given
primary authority over academic matters. It is my hope that the Academic Senate will take up my proposal for the development of a student academic
freedom policy and, through close collaboration with myself and other students, will be able to adopt such a policy by the end of my term on the Board of Regents.

I might end by noting that there is a solid body of precedence available for us to draw from in discussing how to formulate an academic freedom policy for students. In 1967, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), U. S. National Student Association, Association of American Colleges, National Association of Student Personnel
Administrators, and National Association of Woman Deans and Counselors together drafted and adopted a Joint Statement on Rights and Freedoms of
Students that addresses many of the issues I discuss above. In 2000, the AAUP adopted a Statement on Graduate Students that further explores many of
these issues. Student academic freedom statements from other institutions can help guide us as well.

I have discussed my interest in developing a student academic freedom policy with Profs. Binion and Pitts, AVP Dennis Galligani and others at the Office of the President, and student leaders from the UC Student
Association. I plan to summarize my research into our current policies and present a draft proposal to the Academic Senate outlining my thinking in greater detail by the end of the month. I wanted to inform you of my thinking and efforts, and I would very much appreciate your advice and support in this endeavor.

Sincerely,

Matt Murray

Cc:

All Regents
Faculty Representatives Lawrence Pitts and George Blumenthal
President-designate Bob Dynes
Provost Jud King
AVP Dennis Galligani
AVP Ellen Switkes
Vice Provost Lawrence Coleman
UC Student Association

agrega un comentario