A little more than a week ago, The Grade linked to an editorial in the SLU student newspaper that defended the right of Professor Avis Meyer to offer his help on newspaper production nights. Now, in the latest newspaper issue, Provost Joseph Weixlmann responds to the editorial with a letter to the editor.

In particular, Weixlmann takes issue with the editorial’s statement that the university’s restrictions on Meyer is a violation of academic freedom. He launches into a bit of a philosophical argument about what academic freedom really entails. And he minces no words in saying that university administrators “value and aggressively defend” academic freedom of faculty members.

“But the University does not, and never will, affirm the misguided assumption that any behavior, especially behaviors which interfere with the ability of other faculty and staff to perform their assigned duties, is OK,” he writes. 

As for the question of whether or not the administration is trying to take editorial control of the newspaper. he concludes:

“Finally, for those who have tried to make this a First Amendment issue, the publication of the “News mentor” editorial last week should again make it clear that the University has never attempted to control the editorial content of the student newspaper.”