Free speech should be dominant in academia, said Chancellor
Albert Carnesale, in light of recent events at several colleges
that have tested the leeway students and faculty have to express
their opinions.
“In examining things like (free speech) … you bend over
backward in favor of free speech,” Carnesale said in his
quarterly conference with the Daily Bruin on Friday.
“About the only time you’d ever consider interfering
with free speech is when you feel it presents a literal
danger.”
During the conference, the chancellor discussed the expected
cumulative progress requirement, the university’s ongoing
labor negotiations and concerns regarding free speech on college
campuses.
These concerns include a performance art piece in which a UCLA
student appeared to play Russian roulette with a live bullet, and
comments made by the president of Harvard University which
suggested innate differences made women less likely to succeed in
science and mathematics.
Carnesale said that based on what he had learned from the
ongoing investigation into the performance art piece incident, he
does not think it posed a threat to anyone.
“Should people do stuff like that? Would I rather our
faculty say, “˜No guns, not even make-believe guns?’
Sure,” Carnesale said. “But there’s a difference
between that and making a decision about free speech when there
didn’t seem to be any danger.”
Carnesale also spoke about recent remarks made by Lawrence
Summers, the president of Harvard University, whom Carnesale says
he knows personally. Carnesale served as provost of Harvard for
three years before he came to UCLA in 1997.
Though Carnesale said Summers has a right to free speech, he
also said Summers should have been more cautious when making
potentially sensitive remarks, especially given his esteemed
position in higher education.
“That doesn’t mean you can’t say anything
controversial,” Carnesale added. “But it means make
yourself very clear … and make sure you’re doing the best
you can to make sure it can’t be misinterpreted.”
In regards to on-campus issues, Carnesale reiterated his
position on the ECP requirement, saying the policy encourages
students to graduate in a timely fashion so more high school
students will have access to the university.
Members of the undergraduate student government have launched a
campaign to repeal ECP because they allege the policy makes it
difficult for students to balance extracurricular activities and
school work.
“Anybody who gets into UCLA is capable of doing the
work,” Carnesale said. “Now, there may be exceptions
… but the idea that “˜I want to stay enrolled because I
enjoy extracurricular activities,’ well, there’s a
reason they’re called “˜extracurricular.’
They’re not supposed to be “˜instead of
curricular.'”
The chancellor declined to comment on system-wide contract
negotiations between labor unions and the University of California.
A recent report issued by the Coalition of University Employees
““ which represents 16,000 clerical staff in the UC system
““ alleges, among other things, the university has not
increased wages for staff while it has given bonuses to
executives.
Though Carnesale declined to address any specifics of the
union’s report, he defended UCLA’s labor practices.
“If you look at the UC system and look at where are the
best programs for training for other jobs and advancement and
executive preparation, UCLA is considered the model,” he
said.
The chancellor also declined to speak about the specifics of a
proposed ASUCLA fee increase that would raise the student fee from
$7.50 to a potential $58.50 per year by the 2009-2010 school year.
Carnesale said ASUCLA’s current financial situation is
“problematic,” but chalked that up to the
“tough” businesses ASUCLA must compete in, such as
clothing and book sales.
The conference was not without its moments of levity. When asked
whether he thought the UCLA men’s basketball team would make
the NCAA Tournament, Carnesale laughed.
“It’s a requirement, actually,” he joked.