The Student and Academic Freedom

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

I want to congratulate you and Messre. Simon, Glinn and Lilienthal for printing the lengthy and very intelligent report on "Academic Freedom."

May I put into words a conclusion which I am sure you recognize as being implicit in your action? The immediate objective in such attacks on academic freedom as you have described is indeed the teacher and his right his duty, to search honestly for truth; but the ultimate objective is to strike through the teacher to the student himself. The ultimate intention is to restrict the range of ideas which the student may examine for himself to the end that the minds of all students may examine for himself to the end that the minds of all students may be melded to a "safe" and fairly rigid pattern.

Concealed in that intention, of course, is an insult of the grossest nature; for the assumption behind these attacks is that American students are incapable of judging idea for themselves, that they are, in fact, quite willing to submit to mental strait-jackets.

"Academic freedom," then, is not simply the name of an incident involving instructor This or Professor That. As the publication of year report proves, academic freedom is a basic principle which concerns all members of a college or university, and concerns them directly. Walter B. Rideout.   Teching Follow in English