The role of a university

Submitted by Nabeel (United States), Nov 13, 2002 at 23:49

Universities are not there to fulfill "civic responsibilities"; they are there to educate the few people fortunate enough to gain admission and pay tuition. It is the responsibility of the students themselves to engage in civic virtue, to take in the views of their professors AND their peers in order to form their own opinions.

And also, you do not need to be an expert to be able to comment on American foreign policy; it is imperative that everyone, including professors in fields unrelated to Middle East studies, be able to voice their opinion. After all, as cynical and intolerant as they may be, their ability to speak out in the first place is exactly what our foreign policy is meant to protect.

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