Former Columbia University president Lee C. Bollinger on the importance of free speech
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Former Columbia University president discusses importance of free speech and campus expression amid debate over protest rights.
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Lee C. Bollinger, president emeritus of Columbia University, has discussed the importance of free speech in an interview with FRANCE 24, reflecting on how universities must teach and protect it. Bollinger led Columbia until shortly before the institution became a focal point for sometimes violent protests against the war in Gaza, drawing intense scrutiny over campus speech and protest management. His comments underscore the tension between protecting free expression and maintaining campus order—a challenge universities have grappled with intensely in recent years. Columbia has a long-standing reputation as a bastion of academic freedom in the United States, making Bollinger's remarks particularly resonant given the university's recent experience with polarizing demonstrations.
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