2013 Articles

Letter to the editor: Spectator fails to properly address Frontiers incident

Pollack, Robert

In this letter, Robert Pollack criticizes the Columbia Spectator for its inadequate coverage of a lecture by Professor Hughes in the "Frontiers of Science" course. Pollack defends Hughes' approach, which involved shocking students to engage them with the serious risks associated with nuclear weapons and the threats posed by non-governmental groups accumulating nuclear materials. He argues that this kind of provocative teaching is essential for the Core Curriculum, as it challenges students to confront difficult and important issues. Pollack stresses the importance of academic freedom in allowing educators to teach challenging topics.