Finally.

Just when we started to question whether The Badger Herald would ever get the chance to discuss the importance of free speech and the First Amendment, the UW faculty bailed us out.

Last Monday, a proposal was presented to the Faculty Senate aiming to protect the speech rights of UW employees in potential criticism of the university. The catalyst for the amendment is a 2006 Supreme Court ruling declaring state employees could be reprimanded for publicly admonishing their employer.

Under normal circumstances, a proposal like this might feel like worthless, self-serving banter, but if the Supreme Court is going to say employees can be reprimanded for falling out of line — especially if the employer is the government, an entity that has endured criticism since Day One — it’s an absolutely necessary safeguard.

A public university, more than any other government institution, depends on differences of opinion in order to fully discuss contemporary and historical issues. But debate exists beyond the confines of the classroom. Professors are intelligent, opinionated people, and to expect them to refrain from openly discussing their jobs, the educational infrastructure and the government turns them into little more than glorified TAs. It’s just not a good idea.

By the very nature of their jobs, many professors must question government, and, by extension, university policy. To fear for your job simply because you’ve publicly stated that the university could be run more efficiently — a claim similar to that debated in the 2006 Supreme Court case — is not only stupid; it’s absolutely dangerous.

After all, the sound of bitching carries so well when yelled from an ivory tower.