Expanding Bok's Summary

Kelsey Webb
May 25th, 2007

Derek Bok served as the president of Harvard University from 1971 to 1991. During his last year of presidency in 1991, Bok published an article in the Boston Globe discussing free speech and “Expression on the Campus.” Basically, Bok describes the importance of free speech but also the importance of a mutually respected community. “We are faced with a clear example of the conflict between our commitment to free speech and our desire to foster a community founded on mutual respect.” Bok declares that this is an issue our society has had to and will continue to have to face. After completing my own summary and reading the summaries by Brenda, Taylor, and Laura; I have found similarities and differences.

All four of us agreed that the issue at hand is important and some course of action must be taken. We also agreed the best course of action was speaking with the students because setting restrictions could possibly create more problems than solutions. However, I included more references to the Supreme Court’s opinion than others did. Also, I referred to the main issue being freedom of speech/expression rather than the issues that the Harvard students’ actions caused.

Basically, all four had the same concept of Bok’s essay. We all perceived the essay in the same way; most likely the way Bok intended readers to interpret it. When writing summaries, it’s difficult to create one’s own “version” because the purpose is to regurgitate what the author actually wrote, without exactly copying it. Despite this difficulty, I believe it is possible to have a certain “spin” on a summary that would make it different than others. I might interpret a point slightly different than the next reader. These differences would make our summaries unique.

This exercise proved how affective summarizing can be. As I skim the reading for the week, I simply do just that; skim. When I actually have to summarize an article in my own words, paragraph by paragraph, I really interpret the author’s meaning. I will remember the Harvard incident and how it relates to free speech much longer than I’ll remember the checklist for critical thinking. Summarizing may be an editorial exercise, but I believe it is ethical as long as the guidelines between plagiarism and paraphrasing are understood.

It’s reassuring to read other summaries that are similar to my own. It’s also interesting to look at the differences between others’ opinions. Summarizing articles can really help a reader understand and remember the context of the message. Bok’s opinion will find a place in my brain, as will the other tools gained from this exercise.