Word: speech
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Finally, last April, the Faculty asked Bok for his advice and clarification of what free speech means. "Any violation of free speech is disturbing, and I think that there have been a number of incidents going back some years, not only at Harvard but at other places as well," said Henry Rosovsky, former dean of the Faculty. "When you have a pain in the foot, and then a few months later you have a pain in your knee, eventually you come to the conclusion that you have to go to the doctor...
Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III calls the Weinberger incident "a powerful exception" to a general improvement in the atmosphere of tolerance over the last 10 years, but adds that "the incident--though ugly--may have brought home the importance of free speech for many...
...governing body's point man during what he calls the "trouble days of the '60s and '70s"--says he was deeply disturbed by the Weinberger protests and feels the incident called for an official response. "But I view the current period as somewhat typical [as far as free speech problems]. I don't view the '80s as being very different from the average...
...argument that officials like Weinberger have more free speech than others because of heavy media coverage--an argument he acknowledges--Bok retorts, "Truth will emerge more often from a process of free discussion and debate than it will if the government or any other group undertakes to decide which ideas will be heard and which will be suppressed...
...argument that hissing and heckling are themselves viable expressions of speech which deserve protection, Bok shows his fundamentally lawyerly approach to the issue by responding with the old chestnut, "'Your freedom to swing your fist stops at the point of my nose.' . . . If persons opposed to a speaker's policies wish to publicize that fact, they can do so in various ways that will not interfere with the lights of the speaker and the audience," such as peaceful picketing, petitions, or leafletting...