Drawing upon an interview with journalist Jamie Kalven, son of Harry Kalven Jr. of the Kalven Report, the Maroon annotates this oft-cited but little read document.
The Maroon’s Anushree Vashist and Celeste Alcalay spoke with Jamie Kalven about the legacy of the Kalven Report and its relevance to academic freedom today.
A decade later, the Maroon asked the authors of the Chicago Principles about the drafting process, last spring's protests, and the future of the debate over free expression on campus.
Recent student protests at Columbia University, an institution with a rich tradition of student activism, highlight the divergent approaches universities take to sanctioning open expression.
UChicago’s policy on institutional neutrality has not stopped the University from spending millions on federal lobbying, drawing both criticism and support from the University community.
“Our commitment is to the well-being of our patients. Therefore, if there’s something that impedes our ability, it is our responsibility as physicians to advocate for our patient," said Jill Glick, a pediatrician and patient advocate at UChicago Medicine.
Within the classroom, many faculty members have an expectation that the Chicago Principles protect their right to express controversial positions. However, when they step outside of the classroom, it is unclear whether those protections still apply.
Despite its institutional commitment to freedom of expression and inquiry, which relies on access to information, the University of Chicago has long operated under a shroud of secrecy relative to its peers.
At the event, Kalven questioned whether the Report’s principles on institutional neutrality represent a “living tradition” and emphasized the importance of the obligation clause.
