Voices heard

Safe Spaces, Brave Spaces is the latest book by Head of School John Palfrey to explore timely and complex issues in education. Andover parents were among the first to weigh in on topics presented in the book during a Family Weekend conversation with Palfrey and Linda Carter Griffith, assistant head of school for equity, inclusion and wellness.

On Tuesday, Oct. 24, Palfrey will be at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for a book talk followed by a reception. The event begins at 5 p.m. RSVP is required.

About the book

Safe spaces, trigger warnings, microagressions, the disinvitation of speakers, demands to rename campus landmarks—debate over these issues began in lecture halls and on college quads but ended up on op-ed pages in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, on cable news, and on social media. Some of these critiques had merit, but others took a series of cheap shots at “crybullies” who needed to be coddled and protected from the real world. Few questioned the assumption that colleges must choose between free expression and diversity. In Safe Spaces, Brave Spaces, John Palfrey argues that the essential democratic values of diversity and free expression can, and should, coexist on campus.