Speak no evil? (Blog #3)

The article I wanted to share in this week's blog is from The Chronicle of Higher Education (V.55, Issue 22). It isn't a new article, it was published in 2009. I like this article right now because we have been talking a lot about the free flow of information (of course, we are in a class on intellectual freedom) and our rights to free speech and access to information. This article shows that free speech can be a double edged sword, and just because you can say something doesn't always make it wise. "How not to lose face on Facebook" focuses on the case of a Dartmouth professor who let off some steam on Facebook, not realizing that her privacy settings allowed more than just people she had added as friends to see her wall posts. (I was very impressed that her department chair was completely behind her when the story of her social networking fiasco became far flung.) For the amount of coverage that this story got I was surprised at how mild her comments were. But the story does bring up the idea that while we have the right to say anything, there is a time and a place for everything. We must be particularly careful of how and when we make statements that could affect our careers. (Just look at the more recent effect of Helen Thomas' statements regarding Israel.) "Can" does not always mean "should."