Opinion: Bush on academic freedom

Academic freedom is a concept nearly everyone can support in the abstract. Unfettered scholarship and freedom of thought on our university campuses is the underlying principle of higher learning and discovery. But when the threat to that freedom is real, there are always deserters.

So far, Gov. Jeb Bush has proven himself a fair-weather friend of academic freedom. He stood silently by as a Cabinet member lambasted a state university for performing a controversial play. Bush also allowed the state to settle a frivolous lawsuit brought by an art student who was offended by the subject matter of a class.

That is why it is both odd and encouraging that Bush's message to Florida's new contingent of university trustees emphasized the need to protect out-of-the-mainstream viewpoints.

In a speech before more than 100 trustees on Wednesday, Bush told the group that at some point someone is going to say or do something controversial or offensive on a state campus. When that happens, trustees should resist the temptation to pop off, he cautioned. "We should have diverse views on our campus, and they should be protected," Bush said.

That's great advice, and we hope it means what he said. But where was he in April when State Education Commissioner Charlie Crist was attacking Florida Atlantic University for staging Corpus Christi, a play depicting a Christ-like figure as gay? Where was the governor's concern for diverse views when Crist was calling academic freedom "the final refuge in which professors hide when confronted with the absurdity and arrogance of their decisions"?

Of course, now that Bush is defending academic freedom, so is lapdog Charlie. In responding to the governor's speech, Crist told the Tampa Tribune: "I think (trustees) should heed the words of the governor. I mean, he's right on point, as usual. It is not always easy to be able to do that, but it's important to respect academic freedom."

More recently, the governor didn't object when the state offered former University of South Florida student Nicole Ferry $25,000 to settle a sexual harassment suit she brought against the school. Ferry claimed she was offended by a sexually suggestive photograph displayed in a class on controversial art, even though she had been given the option of skipping class that day without penalty.

After the state, over the objection of some USF officials, agreed to pay off the oversensitive student rather than support the art teacher's decision to discuss disturbing images in class, university professors and civil libertarians raised questions about the state's commitment to academic freedom. But nothing was heard from the governor.

What these trustees needed to hear wasn't that the governor supports the concept of academic freedom, but that Bush will be there for those who defend the principle. That he will use the state's legal power any time controversial scholarship and expression come under attack. That he will use his bully pulpit to provide cover for any trustee who stands up for academic freedom -- even against a Cabinet member pandering for votes.

Now that would have been a speech worthy of the standing ovation he received.

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