Mercer University President On Safe Spaces And 'Intellectual Freedom'

Mercer University President Bill Underwood welcomed students last week with a somewhat tough message.

"It’s not the role of the university to shield you from ideas and opinions that you find disagreeable or even that you find deeply offensive. It is our role to to help you learn how to engage productively with those with whom you disagree, and that’s sometimes difficult.”

Underwood's speech was echoed even more strongly by the dean of students at the University of Chicago. His letter to students read:

"We do not support so-called ‘trigger warnings’, we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual ‘safe spaces’ where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own."

This comes as a national debate over “safe spaces” and “trigger warnings” take place on campuses across the country. We talk with him about what he said and whether there are limits to freedom of speech.