TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — With debates over speech, censorship, and free inquiry dominating headlines this week, the University of Arizona staged a counterpoint: a weekend gathering aimed at expanding, not restricting, conversation.
The university’s Center for the Philosophy of Freedom hosted its first Conference on Academic Freedom Friday and Saturday, drawing speakers from across the political spectrum to address urgent issues in higher education.
University of Arizona Associate Director Saura Masconale, a co-organizer of the event, said that the center’s work is essential at a moment when many are retreating into isolated echo chambers. “The Freedom Center is about defending people’s right to constructively disagree,” she said.
The conference had been planned before the recent controversies that have thrust academic freedom into the spotlight nationally. Still, organizers say those events have made the conference “even more important now.”
One session featured Daniel Jacobson of the University of Colorado, Boulder, whose address was titled A Defense of Affirmative Action for Conservatives. He said his talk would consider “both in hiring in particular, but also in graduate admissions,” arguing that conservatives in academia are underrepresented in ways that affirmative action might remedy.
Morality, disagreement, and tolerance were recurring themes throughout the two-day event. Masconale emphasized the importance of learning how to argue without fear: “Because people have to learn again and not to fear to disagree constructively.”
She added that “it is good if we fight with ideas and words, that’s ok. The problem is, when we don’t do that, we end up fighting in another way.”
The conference, which included panels and Q&A sessions open to students, faculty, and the public, covered topics such as free expression, the neutrality of public universities, and the responsibilities of higher education in a democratic society.
Organizers told KGUN9 they plan to make the event annual.
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Eddie Celaya is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born in Tucson and raised in the Phoenix area, Eddie is a life-long Arizonan and graduate of the University of Arizona who loves the desert and mountains and hates the cold. Previously, Eddie worked in print media at the Arizona Daily Star. Share your story ideas with Eddie at edward.celaya@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook or Instagram.
