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Light and Truth and a Free Press
September 9, 2009
by Michael Steinberg ’74
In early September, attorney Michael Steinberg ’74 and pediatric oncologist Seth Corey ’78 formed the Yale Committee for a Free Press, to protest the omission of the cartoons and illustrations from Jytte Klausen’s book. Two dozen alumni have since signed on to Sternberg’s statement.
Yale University Press, owned and operated by Yale, has embraced censorship.
The press accepted for publication The Cartoons That Shook the World, by Brandeis professor Jytte Klausen. Then it deleted the cartoons from her manuscript. Why? Because the cartoons—which ran in newspapers and are on the Internet—might lead to more violence. So Yale’s once-free press did away with them.
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In a world where light and truth are under siege, Yale alumni have a vital stake in preserving a free press.
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The press’s censors went further, deleting all pictures of Muhammad, including a nineteenth-century illustration by Gustave Dore. Why? Because Islamic law forbids depictions of Muhammad, and—there might be violence. So out went the pictures.
This surrender to unknown potential belligerents drew scorn from the American Association of University Professors. The AAUP summarized Yale’s position: “We do not negotiate with terrorists. We just accede to their anticipated demands.”
Yale should not be the arbiter of what is “safe” to publish. Such censorship violates Yale’s own explicit policy: “Above all, every member of the university has an obligation to permit free expression in the university. … Every official of the university … has a special obligation to foster free expression and to ensure that it is not obstructed.”
In a world where light and truth are under siege, Yale alumni have a vital stake in preserving a free press. The Yale Corporation must reverse this error, direct the Yale Press to print Klausen’s book with the censored material restored, and distribute it widely—as a tangible reminder that freedom of the press cannot be taken for granted.
Amir A. Afkhami '03PhD
John R. Bolton '70, '74JD
Max Boot '92MA
Richard Brookhiser '77
Theodore Bromund '99PhD
Brian M. Carney '96
Joshua Chadajo '01MBA
William W. Chip '71, '79JD
Seth Corey '78
David Frum '82, '82MA
Maggie Gallagher '82
David Gortler, former assistant professor, Yale School of Medicine
Todd Hartch '89, '00PhD
James Kirchick '06
Matthew Klein '09
Lawrence Levine '00JD
David Munro '68
Noah Pollak '10MA
Peter R. Rosenblatt '54, '57LLB
Aaron Rothstein '09
Michael Rubin '94, '99PhD
Michael W. Steinberg ’74
Keith Urbahn '06
Amy L. Wax '75
Diana West '83 |
