Debating Danger

Almost every college in the country has a band of articulate fellows who have no greater joy than wordy arguments. At some schools they enjoy greater prestige than the football squad, while at others they are known only for their briefcases and pointed fingers. Whatever their reputation, debaters have a tradition for arguing either side of any topic. But this year something has gone disturbingly awry.

Already scheduled for intercollegiate competition, a number of schools are now refusing to debate the national topic that suggests recognition of Communist China. The colleges excuse themselves by claiming that arguments for China are no more than Soviet Party propaganda. And Educators in three mid-western schools have agreed that discussion of the topic might pollute the students' American minds.

This reaction is much like the antics of those monkeys that hear, see, and speak no evil. By avoiding a problem, they seem to think it will disappear. Even accepting these colleges' narrow belief that only communists advocate recognition of China, the refusal to argue the issue is inexcusable. When it is no longer possible to present both sides of a topic, there is not climate of fear, but an actual freezing of thought.