Open letter from Dr. John Silber to Colleges and Universities
Office of the Chancellor Boston University 147 Bay State Road
Boston, Massachusetts 02215  I write to bring to your attention
libels that have appeared recently in college and university
papers concerning Boston University professor Elie Wiesel. These
have taken the form of advertisements placed by the Committee
for Open Debate on the Holocaust (CODOH) and its director.
Bradley R. Smith.  Just as surely as a student newspaper would
be reluctant to run an advertisement in favor of the flat earth
theory and no university would hire a professor who advocated
the flat earth theory, anyone who cares about the truth is under
an obligation to think twice before offering a platform to those
who systematically lie by denying the Holocaust. Those lies are
at the heart of the advertisement submitted by Mr. Smith.  The
advertisement begins by misunderstanding the idea of the
university. It is not merely to promote intellectual freedom,
but also to promote int