wiredfool

No Doubt, by ‘every study,’ I do not , of course, mean to include the study of how to be a pompous ass, which is the only study to which your offspring are likely to be inclined. *

It had to happen. There is an attempt to restrict what students at university can download off the net. Ok, so they’re surfing for pr0n, mp3’s, and political websites. They’re surfing for things that are not directly related to a class.

Good for them. Universities are dedicated to the expansion of knowlege. Even if it isn’t related to a class. I went to university at where the intention was to provide for study in every field for every person. And they sort of succeed.

Excepting (of course) the study of how to be a pompous ass.

The utility of a university is maybe 10% related to the goings on in the classroom. It’s who you meet. It’s the odd things that you can explore at 3am. It’s the research in the labs and the libraries. Finding that book that you’d never find if you were looking for it. The freedom to noodle.

Restricting speech and action at a University is a denial of the very reason for its existence.

But the university isn’t buildings, professors and students. It’s the collection of people in search of knowlege. When that search is restrained, the University dies. And restricting speech is a primary restraint.

* Quote from Matt Ruff, Fool on the Hill 1988. p 3