{"id":852,"date":"1985-10-03T11:50:03","date_gmt":"1985-10-03T18:50:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schoenblog.com\/?p=852"},"modified":"2017-06-14T00:12:14","modified_gmt":"2017-06-14T07:12:14","slug":"bowens-policy-of-no-policies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schoenblog.com\/?p=852","title":{"rendered":"Bowen’s Policy of ‘No Policies’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bowen’s Policy of ‘No Policies’<\/p>\n

Nassau Weekly<\/em> (10\/3\/85)<\/p>\n

By Randy Schoenberg<\/p>\n

In his speech at Opening Exercises, President Bowen discussed a state of mind that has become all too prevalent at this University and in the United States in general.\u00a0 He believes that institutions should refrain from political actions and moral statements in order to facilitate a more \u201copen\u201d environment for discussion and research.\u00a0 I question the ability of any institution to completely sever itself from the political and moral world and the desirability of doing so.<\/p>\n

Who really benefits from such a system?\u00a0 How can one change policies whose existence an administration denies?\u00a0 And do \u201copenness\u201d and \u201cfreedom of discussion\u201d merely cloak the hidden conservatism of a policy which maintains the status quo?\u00a0 Bowen\u2019s speech did not address these questions.<\/p>\n

Bowen feels that an institution which maintains no official positions better facilitates open discussion and free argumentation.\u00a0 \u201cThis reluctance [of universities to take institutional stands on issues],” he says, \u201chas been viewed as a positive thing:\u00a0 a direct demonstration of the institutions\u2019 openness to all points of view.\u201d\u00a0 On the contrary, such non-involvement has the effect of stifling discussion.<\/p>\n

Instead of being open to all ideas, the University as an institution is open to none, save those which already form University policy.\u00a0 Few people will argue or speak out for their beliefs if they know that their speech has no hope of affecting University policy.\u00a0 The consequence of Bowen\u2019s program of institutional restraint is a lifeless and impotent ideological vacuum, void of new ideas.<\/p>\n

Bowen also believes that \u201copenness to conflicting viewpoints and free debate\u201d necessitates an environment in which all ideas are respected equally.\u00a0 But will an institution which is afraid to show a preference for one ideology over another, fearing that such an action will be seen as favoritism, ever resolve to change the status quo?<\/p>\n

Bowen\u2019s belief, that \u201cgiven an opportunity, truth and right will eventually triumph over falsehood and wrong,\u201d is na\u00efve and, in conjunction with his opinion on restraint, self-defeating.\u00a0 How can truth and right triumph if the University refuses to take a stand or reverse its existing policies?<\/p>\n

In order to avoid these inevitable questions, Bowen attempts to justify inaction on the part of the University as an institution.\u00a0 He refers to \u201cthe number of errors and even crimes that have been committed in the names of Truth and Conscience,\u201d implying that acting on the belief in one\u2019s understanding of Truth is dangerous.\u00a0 This assertion does not address the potential harms of inaction, and instead relies upon blind faith in the \u201ceventual triumph of truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

One cannot hope to counteract the wrongs and untruths of others without forthright action in accordance with one\u2019s own beliefs.\u00a0 On a societal or institutional level, this action is important, because conservatism will always maintain the status quo, no matter how unjust any given group of individuals believe it to be.\u00a0 Any institution or society which chooses not to take a position one way or another commits a sin of omission as great as, if not greater than, the wrongful act itself.\u00a0 Inaction makes future change more difficult.<\/p>\n

Bowen\u2019s policy is the ultimate form of conservatism.\u00a0 If the University has no official policies, under the auspices of \u201copenness\u201d and \u201cfreedom of discussion,\u201d it then removes the impetus for discussion\u2014the opportunity to change or create University policies.<\/p>\n

Is it possible for Princeton to have no \u201cofficial\u201d policies?\u00a0 Evolution is taught by the Biology Department to the exclusion of Creation Theory; counseling on both birth control devices and abortions is offered at McCosh Health Center, and professors are encouraged to accept money for research related to the Strategic Defense Initiative.\u00a0 Some would consider these \u201cpolicies\u201d more political than the University\u2019s investment in companies which do business in South Africa.<\/p>\n

The University cannot and should not shy away from such actions, nor should it fear that they may harm the integrity of the University as a free forum for discussion.\u00a0 Institutional policies, and the uproar or approval they evoke, are an essential tool for social change and progress.<\/p>\n

Bowen, in accordance with this role as the President of the corporation which is Princeton, states that \u201cto be free, [an institution] must be solvent.\u201d\u00a0 Does this mean that the University will forget its commitment to institutional restraint, if and when money is at stake?\u00a0 If so, this conflicts with Bowen\u2019s claim that \u201c[Princeton] is not for sale.\u201d\u00a0 At times, Princeton must act politically to protect its own monetary interests.\u00a0 The University supports a large lobbying organization expressly for such purposes.<\/p>\n

Will Princeton begin disinvestment from companies doing a large amount of business in South Africa?\u00a0 The trustees and Bowen have said no.\u00a0 But it seems likely that the violence in South Africa will cause stocks of those companies to fall.\u00a0 If so, is it not fiscally wise to divest?\u00a0 (Rutgers has cited economic instability as their foremost reason for divestment.)\u00a0 Were Princeton to divest, it would be a purely monetary decision, having nothing to do with the political discussion going on within the University.<\/p>\n

If, however, the University is willing to make essentially political decisions based on monetary considerations, is this truly an institution which can be said, under Bowen\u2019s definition, to be \u201copen to all points of view?\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking political stands may do more to encourage discussion than institutional restraint.\u00a0 If the University were to act politically, there would be a reason to argue and discuss\u2014the hope that such discussion would lead to a more consistent policy.\u00a0 Bowen is reluctant to take an institutional position at all, or to acknowledge that such positions already exist.\u00a0 What then, is the point of discussion?<\/p>\n

It is not, as Bowen suggests, \u201cthe unrelenting, open-minded search for truth\u201d which is \u201citself the highest value,\u201d but the debate and discussion surrounding institutional action which leads to the ultimate truth and correctness of University policies.<\/p>\n

Bowen\u2019s image of Princeton, \u201cat a slight angle to the world,\u201d does not fit his speech.\u00a0 In fact, he describes an amorphous, boundless enclosure, without an orientation with respect to the rest of the world.\u00a0 An institution which stands at an angle to the world challenges the correctness of the standard orientation, attracts attention to itself, and perhaps signifies a defiance of accepted norms without completely rejecting them\u2014this is the image which Princeton should project.<\/p>\n

If Bowen\u2019s speech suggests anything with its numerous allusions to past times when academic freedom was less prevalent, it is that we should be content with our present situation.\u00a0 Conservatism is carefully hidden behind the fa\u00e7ade of protecting academic freedom.\u00a0 But if freedom of discussion is to have any value at all, it must be able to manifest itself in progressive actions which challenge existing inequities.\u00a0 The University as an institution must be committed to education, to progress, and to the dissemination of new research and ideas which attempt to change society for the better.<\/p>\n

One should not be so open-minded that one\u2019s brains fall out.\u00a0 If what we want is integrity, solvency, and academic freedom, we should support an institution which enables us to realize our hopes and dreams of a better society, not one which holds politically and morally progressive action in contempt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bowen’s Policy of ‘No Policies’ Nassau Weekly (10\/3\/85) By Randy Schoenberg In his speech at Opening Exercises, President Bowen discussed a state of mind that has become all too prevalent at this University and in the United States in general.\u00a0 … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoenblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoenblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoenblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoenblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoenblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=852"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/schoenblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1292,"href":"https:\/\/schoenblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852\/revisions\/1292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoenblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoenblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoenblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}