Student Council to Present Debate, Symposium on Academic Freedom

The Student Council next week will sponsor a debate between Russell Kirk, author and educator, and Mark DeWolfe Howe '28, professor of Law, and in addition, a student-faculty symposium, both on academic freedom.

The forums are in honor of the National Student Association's Academic Freedom Week. The symposium will be held Tuesday, and the debate, Friday.

William C. Brady II '57, who planned the two programs, said that he had selected speakers to present both conservative and liberal viewpoints. Kirk, who taught at Michigan State before obtaining a Guggenheim Fellowship to study in the British Isles, is author of "The Conservative Mind," "A Program for Conservatism," and editor of the "Conservative Review."

Kirk defined academic freedom as "a body of prescriptive rights assessed by scholars and teachers in educational institutions to help protect them against the hazards incident to the pursuit of truth."

Howe will present the liberal interpretation of academic freedom. Samuel P. Huntington, assistant professor of Government, will moderate the debate.

In the symposium, George M. Fredrickson '56, William G. Dakin '57, Luigi R. Einaudi '57, David A. Horgan '56, Terence S. Turner '57, and a sixth student still to be chosen will speak on their own interpretations of academic freedom. Brady said that conservative, liberal, and middle-of-the-road views will receive equal representation.

William M. McCord, instructor in Social Psychology, and Ernest R. May, instructor in History, will critically analyze the speeches.