Other voices: Harvard’s president reminds academia it’s ‘not about the activism.’

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CHICAGO — Harvard University is home to The Harvard Crimson, the nation’s oldest continuously published daily college newspaper, and the fine student journalists there offer excellent coverage on a wide array of topics, beginning with their own campus leaders. That storied student paper published something this month that caught our eye, amplifying the university president’s comments on free speech on campus during a podcast interview.

President Alan Garber appeared in December on the “Identity/Institute” podcast and made candid comments about Harvard’s drift away from objectivity and how to fix it.

“What we need to arm our students with is a set of facts and a set of analytic tools and cultivation of rigor in analyzing these issues. It is not about how to sling slogans or how to advance a particular political perspective,” he said, adding: “We’re not about the activism.”

This should be uncontroversial in academia.

We’ve admired for a while Garber’s commitment to promoting these principles in classroom debate, and pushing out bad practices that would stifle engagement in the kinds of lively conversations that foster true learning and offer young minds the opportunity to sharpen their arguments, see an issue from a different point of view and, in many circumstances, change their opinion. We feel the same way about our own University of Chicago, which has several thought leaders on this issue.

Harvard, of course, has had this reckoning forced upon itself, in many ways. Deep divisions over the conflict in the Middle East threatened to tear the campus in two. Garber described the 2023-24 academic year as “disappointing and painful.”

Then, in 2025, the university faced intense external pressure as President Donald Trump’s administration froze billions in federal funding — an action a judge later ruled unconstitutional.

These are the fires that refined and defined Garber’s early tenure. We’d say he knows a thing or two about the struggle to protect free speech. That’s why his words are important — and welcome.

Of course, his critique also applies to campuses beyond his own. As many students at any number of universities across the U.S. know, there’s a real risk to speaking your mind, particularly if it doesn’t align with the accepted norms on hot-button issues. Especially in the classroom

“Think about it, if a professor in a classroom says, ‘This is what I believe about this issue’ … how many students would actually be willing to go toe to toe against a professor who’s expressed a firm view about a controversial issue?” Garber said.

As a result, students often actively reject contrary points of view. Stories of conservative speakers being shouted down or banned from campus altogether have become so commonplace they no longer make headlines.

That’s not the way we’re meant to learn. It’s also not the way institutions dedicated to education are meant to function.

— The Chicago Tribune

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College hockey: Gopher women smite Huskies once again

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Abbey Murphy returned to the spotlight Saturday with a pair of goals as the third-ranked Minnesota women’s hockey team wrapped up a home-and-home series sweep of No. 15 St. Cloud State with a 5-1 win at Ridder Arena.

Murphy, who has scored in 10 consecutive games, recorded the lone goal of the first period to put the Gophers up 1-0 heading into the initial break. St. Cloud State matched their hosts at 1-1 with a goal at 2:04 of the second, but Kendra Distad put the hosts up for good 75 seconds later.

It was all Minnesota from there, as the Gophers finished off the contest with a trio of goals in the final period coming off the sticks of Murphy, Chloe Primerano and Tereza Plosova for the four-goal victory. Minnesota goaltender Layla Hemp made 19 saves.

Murphy’s two goals gave her 139 for her Gophers career, tying her with Nadine Muzerall for the all-time team record. Josefin Bouveng had an assist, extending her point streak to 25 games. Head coach Brad Frost registered his 550th career win on the day.

The win boosted the Gophers to a 22-4 overall record, 16-4 in WCHA play. The Huskies fell to 8-16-2 overall, 4-14-2 in the conference.

Minnesota now turns to a massive series next weekend as No. 1 Wisconsin pays a visit to Ridder Arena for games next Friday night and Saturday afternoon. The WCHA-leading Badgers polished off Bemidji State 10-3 on Saturday.

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Women’s hockey: St. Thomas loses on road to No. 2 Ohio State

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The St. Thomas women’s hockey team couldn’t keep pace on the road with No. 2 Ohio State, losing 5-0 on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.

The Tommies (10-16-0, 5-15-0 WCHA) had taken a 2-1 loss the previous day. Nora Hannan had 31 saves in goal for St. Thomas on Saturday.

The Buckeyes (23-3-0, 17-3-0) got goals from Jordan Petrie, Jocelyn Adams, Joy Dunne, Maxime Cimoroni and Sloane Matthews.

The Tommies have a home series next weekend against No. 12 St. Cloud State.

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Men’s college basketball: St. Thomas downs South Dakota

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Nick Janowski scored 23 points on 8-for-13 shooting to go with five rebounds as the Tommies downed the Coyotes 90-78 Saturday in South Dakota to complete the season sweep.

The Tommies have now won 11 of their last 12 contests and remain firmly entrenched in second place in the Summit League, behind only North Dakota State.

All eight St. Thomas players to see action Saturday scored at least eight points, as the Tommies went 30 for 56 from the field, including 10 for 24 from 3-point territory.

Jordan Crawford had 22 points to pace South Dakota (11-11, 3-4 Summit) on a day where many of his teammates struggled from the field. The Coyotes went just 7 for 21 from beyond the arc.

South Dakota led by as many as nine points in the first half and was up by two at the break, but St. Thomas seized control in the second stanza. A 16-2 run, capped by a Janowski triple, pushed the Tommies’ advantage to 16 with just six minutes to play.

Austin Herro grabbed nine boards for the Tommies (17-5, 6-1 in Summit), who dominated South Dakota on the glass. St. Thomas won the rebounding battle 38-25.

The Tommies next play Thursday, when they host North Dakota in St. Paul.

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