To the Editor:
I have been reading with some consternation the various articles and letters to the editor in The Dartmouth the past few weeks regarding the incident of Al-Nur's website contents.
I believe the campus can understand the anger of both sides, and though members of Al-Nur eventually complied and removed the offensive material, the questions raised by this incident are doomed to repeat themselves in potentially more vicious forms if the College compromises its duty to uphold free speech.
I am firm in my support of the right to complete freedom of speech by individuals and organizations at Dartmouth.
Though I must be unequivocal in expressing that I denounce the controversial passages that Al-Nur posted and believe it was foolhardy to post anything without reading it beforehand, students at Dartmouth must be committed to creating an atmosphere whereby good ideas can oust bad ones in the forum of logic, reason and open debate. After all, what more fundamental raison d'etre has a university?
For these reasons, sanctions against Al-Nur -- and indeed, against any organization or student that expresses speech, be it hateful or controversial -- would undermine the most elemental tenets of human expression and university education.
