Despite the offer, Paulin—who has asserted on numerous occasions that he is not an anti-Semite—did not give the Morris Gray lecture after citing teaching responsibilities at Oxford University.

In Paulin’s absence, the English department hosted a forum in November that addressed controversial passages in literature.

Summers, who according to The National Review had been privately “horrified” by Paulin’s invitation, issued a public statement affirming Harvard’s commitment to free speech.

“We are ultimately stronger as a University if we together maintain our robust commitment to free expression, including the freedom of groups on campus to invite speakers with controversial views,” Summers said.

Unmoderated or Uncomfortable?

But not all free speech debates at Harvard this year involved prominent international figures or newspaper headlines.

In March, conflicts surrounding open e-mail lists in Lowell and Eliot Houses brought issues of free speech directly to undergraduates’ personal computers.

In Lowell House, the debate centered around daily e-mails containing facts about black history. The e-mails—meant to celebrate February as Black History Month—were sent to the House open list by a Lowell resident and member of the Harvard Black Students’ Association.

Calling the e-mails “spam,” some students said the e-mails were a misuse of an open list meant as a forum for House issues.

But others defended the black history e-mails as legitimate posts.

“Black history e-mails are one small step in a broad attempt to create a sensitive, multicultural community,” three Lowell residents wrote in a Crimson editorial.

Still, those who had objected to the e-mails protested the way they had been treated for expressing their opinions.

“My arguments were dismissed as racist,” said Lowell House resident Catherine E. McCaw ’03.

The debate prompted Lowell House Masters Diana L. Eck and Dorothy A. Austin, and Senior Tutor John L. Ellison to send an e-mail asking all residents to be more considerate when posting to the list.

In the same month, a student in Eliot House used the word “slut” on the House Open list.