Yale students will practice what they preach -- literally -- at the Association of Yale Alumni's Spring Assembly on the theme "Free Speech, Free Expression and Free Inquiry at Yale," to be held Friday-Saturday, April 26-27.
The assembly will focus on issues surrounding Yale's policy on free speech, as expressed in the Woodward Report of 1975 and amended by the Adair Report in 1989. Adopted at a time when the value of free expression was widely questioned, the Woodward Report defended not only the right to speak but also the opportunity to hear and learn from the expression of others.
There will be sessions on the intellectual and historical foundations of Yale's policies on free speech, as well as presentations by current students and faculty about how people at Yale today actually decide what is said, written and examined.
One issue that will be examined is how the encouragement of free speech can sometimes compromise other important values, and participants will have the opportunity to discuss specific cases illustrating problems that arise from the competing demands of free speech, privacy, community and compassion. The program will also explore how economic relationships, tenure considerations and unspoken codes can narrow the range of discourse for faculty and students.
The constraints that may affect the subject matter and direction of research and teaching -- such as resource allocations imposed from outside the University and intellectual property constraints -- will also be addressed.
Delegates and other guests will have the opportunity to see free speech in action at a bazaar on Beinecke Plaza -- described by organizers as "a kind of Hyde Park at Yale" -- where student groups will staff booths and exercise their right to free speech. This program is designed to let alumni see for themselves the range of opinions and depth of passions of current Yale students.
The AYA Spring Assembly will also include a meeting of Yale Club representatives, the Yale Medal Dinner in University Commons (see related story) and a luncheon honoring this year's AYA Community Service Fellows (see story.)
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