Guest Column | Modi and Wharton: Fostering dissent
Since the retraction of Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to the Wharton School, events continue to unfold ominously. The opportunity for public discourse, multiple perspectives expressed in an open and civil manner, has been lost at least twice. The result is an increasing vitriolic that targets faculty and students at the University of Pennsylvania for exercising critical judgment and free speech. Free speech is essential to institutions of higher education and the democracies that foster them. It is imperative to nurturing the critical thinking skills that are the hallmarks of a quality education. But, in an ironic twist, Mr. Modi’s supporters are using their right to free speech to mount personal attacks against critics and, in fact, silence dissent.