November 30, 2007

Academic Freedom in Fact and Myth

To the Editor:

Robert M. O'Neil's "4 Challenges to Free Speech in Academe" (The Chronicle Review, November 2) perpetuates three basic and overdone myths: Free speech and academic freedom are the same thing; free speech in academe is always a good thing; and there is no distinction between public and private institutions when it comes to academic freedom.

First, free speech is a concept that makes sense only as a right of a citizen in relation to his government. It is a loose

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