This is an open letter to President Shirley Ann Jackson.

A university’s caliber can, in part, be measured by its commitment to free speech. This benchmark reveals the willingness of an institution to nourish critical thinking skills and sustain intellectual diversity. If a university encourages its alumni to change the world, as Rensselaer does, it must carve out an environment in which students can taste the free inquiry that is essential to achieving that goal.

As The Rensselaer Handbook outlines the Institute’s commitment to the protection of unpopular ideas, I am confident you understand why free speech is crucial to the quality of education at our Institution. Unfortunately, I cannot confidently say that administrative policy has reflected such an understanding.

Particularly troubling is the removal of Wafaa Bilal’s “Virtual Jihadi” from campus. The work’s message greatly contributes to the ongoing national discussion on the issue of domestic security, while its controversial presentation provoked passionate emotional responses. If any work was to qualify for free speech protection as part of the Rensselaer community, it was that of Bilal. Instead, Bilal’s project was removed from campus due to its controversial political content. This disregard for the Institute’s commitment to free speech deeply betrays Rensselaer’s educational mission.

It may surprise you to know that this incident is only one of the many free speech conflicts Rensselaer has witnessed in the past year. For example, the website of the RPI College Republicans was suspended by the Dean of Students Office for statements regarding Bilal’s work. Last fall, I was approached for assistance by a student when the same office shut down a department-approved art project, which involved public criticisms of faculty. Last year, the office attempted to intimidate a student into removing a video from the Internet that harmlessly poked fun at the Institute. Faculty members have been instructed to remain silent to their students regarding the faculty governance crisis.

The Bilal incident was not isolated. It was a single component in a larger recipe for educational disaster at Rensselaer.

As president, your goal has been to transform Rensselaer into a world-class institution. However, as a chef would say, the quality of a meal is not judged by its garnish, but by the quality of the ingredients. Similarly, Rensselaer can build any number of EMPACs and ECAVs to look more pleasing to the world. By not protecting the essential academic ingredient of free speech, however, we can only be a second-rate institution at best.

I urge you to meet with campus leaders to organize a community gathering, in the style of that which followed the Virginia Tech tragedy, on the topic of the Institute’s commitment to free speech. We must bring students, faculty, and top administrators together to discuss these issues as equals in the community. If we are to preserve both the Institute’s reputation and the concept of free speech, such a gathering is a necessary first step in working towards a larger solution.

<b>Austin Randazzo