SULGRAVE, England - University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg discussed the importance of freedom of speech Saturday at Sulgrave Manor, the ancestral home of George Washington, to a group of British intellectuals and GW alumni.
Trachtenberg's visit to England was part of a multinational tour to bid farewell to GW alumni and other friends of the University across the globe before he leaves his post in July after serving as president for 19 years. Dozens gathered in a historic room of the English manor to listen to his lecture, which was filled with Trachtenberg's signature comedic anecdotes and colloquialisms.
"Rights are not absolute, and not absolutely right," he said, referring to the rights given to every American in the Constitution while commenting on the difference between free speech and libel.
As an example, he referred to American pop-culture icon Paris Hilton as a "public slut." After the audience stopped laughing, he quickly clarified that he had not committed a libelous act because she was a public figure. In the American legal system, celebrities like Hilton have a higher burden to prove libel.
Americans' view of freedom of expression, Trachtenberg argued, is something that our founders could never have imagined. "It was an idea born in the 19th century that blossomed in the 20th," he said.
In response to one audience member's question about D.C. students' reaction to current events, Trachtenberg said he was "disappointed" by the silence of many GW students on matters of U.S. foreign policy, specifically the country's involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"One would think that people in their 20s would be more concerned about their peers going to Iraq," he said. "However, one reason could be that there's no longer a draft (like in the Vietnam War)."
He also said that there was a socioeconomic factor, where many poorer youths enlisted to fight in Vietnam while the richer ones were attending universities - an element separating the Iraq War from Vietnam.
Trachtenberg's visit to England was part of a multinational tour to bid farewell to GW alumni and other friends of the University across the globe before he leaves his post in July after serving as president for 19 years. Dozens gathered in a historic room of the English manor to listen to his lecture, which was filled with Trachtenberg's signature comedic anecdotes and colloquialisms.
"Rights are not absolute, and not absolutely right," he said, referring to the rights given to every American in the Constitution while commenting on the difference between free speech and libel.
As an example, he referred to American pop-culture icon Paris Hilton as a "public slut." After the audience stopped laughing, he quickly clarified that he had not committed a libelous act because she was a public figure. In the American legal system, celebrities like Hilton have a higher burden to prove libel.
Americans' view of freedom of expression, Trachtenberg argued, is something that our founders could never have imagined. "It was an idea born in the 19th century that blossomed in the 20th," he said.
In response to one audience member's question about D.C. students' reaction to current events, Trachtenberg said he was "disappointed" by the silence of many GW students on matters of U.S. foreign policy, specifically the country's involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"One would think that people in their 20s would be more concerned about their peers going to Iraq," he said. "However, one reason could be that there's no longer a draft (like in the Vietnam War)."
He also said that there was a socioeconomic factor, where many poorer youths enlisted to fight in Vietnam while the richer ones were attending universities - an element separating the Iraq War from Vietnam.
