Academic Freedom and the Israel-Gaza War

To the Editor:

Re “Political Dissent Is Under Attack on Campus,” by Paula Chakravartty and Vasuki Nesiah (Opinion guest essay, April 8):

As an N.Y.U. alumnus and an academic, I am disturbed by the authors’ implication that at N.Y.U. it is solely the Palestinian voice in the complex tragedy that is being suppressed.

Academic freedom requires academic responsibility, which is lacking when it is suggested that the suffering of the Palestinian people is the only acceptable topic for outrage, and it is assumed that sufficient balance is provided by a single sentence noting opposition to antisemitism.

The problem is also seen in the failure to mention the incidents of disruption, threats and physical intimidation at N.Y.U. and elsewhere that have effectively shut down any discourse other than condemnation of Israel.

Academic freedom must be earned every day through a commitment to promoting discussion from multiple points of view and sources. That freedom, already under attack, will be lost when the public perceives that it serves only one side.

Ted Besmann
Columbia, S.C.

To the Editor:

As a Jew, a former dean and professor in higher education, and a passionate advocate for academic freedom and free speech, I applaud Paula Chakravartty and Vasuki Nesiah for their courageous and compelling essay.

Tragically, universities have become more beholden to their donors, as corporations are to their stockholders, than their faculty, students and staff. If people can’t be free to express unpopular opinions on college campuses, where is it safe to do so?