To the editor:

I found the May 30 Saturday Column regarding emails in the School of Business to be puzzling. Academic freedom concerns the ability to engage in research and teaching without fear of harassment or persecution, not hiding emails subject to open records laws. It exists to encourage the free exchange of ideas, not their concealment. This is quite consistent with open records, to shine light on deliberation in public institutions.

It is also curious that the column expresses concern about the effect of open records requests on the School of Business. The Journal-World has not hesitated to utilize such requests for issues it deemed significant at the university. It’s not clear what makes this case different, since it’s plainly not about academic freedom.  Yes, it’s possible that controversy may make some people unhappy. But that is usually the case, and hardly seems a principled rationale for opposing actions the paper itself has undertaken.