Former IU-B chancellor to discuss censorship, privacy

A former IU-Bloomington chancellor will return to campus Thursday to speak with the Bloomington chapter of the American Association of University Professors on academic freedom and homeland security. \nRobert O'Neil, who is now a law professor at the University of Virginia, plans to discuss how American universities have had to adapt after the Sept. 11 attacks.\n"Bob has been a national leader for the AAUP for many years," said IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs professor Ted Miller, who is president of the AAUP Bloomington chapter. "One of his special areas is academic freedom. He is probably the most qualified person to speak about this topic."\nSince Sept. 11, perceived threats to national security have surfaced along with an interest in securing those places that might be attacked, he said.\n"One of the institutions which seem most vulnerable is the university environment, as a very free environment where people can follow their own ideas with very few restrictions and a general level about protecting people about threats," Miller said.\nAlthough political science professor Christine Barbour said Sept. 11 did not have a direct effect on IU, she believes the attacks raised issues still in need of discussion.\n"The Academic Bill of Rights is something which every student should be concerned about," Barbour said. "Some states will be able to sue professors who teach their views -- this is a great subject to cover."\nO'Neil's speech will address topics like free speech, privacy, censorship, divided loyalties, graduate recruitment, foreign travel and faculty retention in the post-Sept. 11 academic world.\n"With both sides arguing about which side is right in the Statehouse over the Academic Bill of Rights, over issues such as creationism versus evolution, it makes you wonder what is really true," Barbour said.\nWith IU acting as a center stage for this discourse, especially for Indiana, many professors worry how the Academic Bill of Rights will affect the way they run their classes given the bill's implications for the First Amendment right to free speech.\n"There is an inevitable clash between national security and freedom, and right now we are very worried about free speech," said political science professor Gerald Wright. "The protection of people's privacy is fuzzy right now. However, Congress seems more concerned about security than the implications on our First Amendment freedoms."\nAfter being IU chancellor from 1975 to 1980, O'Neil became the president of the University of Wisconsin and later the University of Virginia before settling into his current teaching position there.\n"There is a real tension between academic environments and the reality of the world," Miller said. "Bob has been thinking a lot about the interactions about these two things for a very long while, and I believe he will provide a lot of issues that must be solved and looked into."\nThe lecture will be held from 4 to 5:30 p.m.today in the Moot Court Room in the Law School. \n-- Contact Staff Writer Ryne \nShadday at rshadday@indiana.edu.