Last spring, an Israeli student, Lior Halperin, put up an exhibit called "Voices of Palestine"-drawings by Palestinian teenagers depicting the misery of their lives in the Occupied Territories. Originally planned for two weeks, the exhibit was abruptly taken down by the University administration after four days. Jimmy Carter's visit to Brandeis last week addressed many issues provoked by this exhibit and its removal while also giving all of us a lesson about civil discourse. Our world is increasingly hysterical, especially about the Mideast. We need more rational discussions, and universities are ideal venues for them. Last week, there was one.

Many criticisms were leveled at the "Voices of Palestine" exhibit justifying its removal: It was propaganda, it manipulated children, it wasn't art, it was uncivil and it lacked scholarly analysis and context. Even if true, these criticisms missed the point. The significant issue was that the pictures had obvious and painful political content. How could that content be discussed at Brandeis or anywhere else with civility while avoiding the other expressed criticisms?

Jimmy Carter was the perfect answer. He's not an artist or a kid. He was President of the United States and won the Nobel Peace Prize. He brokered a Mideast peace treaty that has endured, however cold, for decades, saving untold lives. He's an internationally recognized humanitarian and statesman and the author of many books. He visited Brandeis in an accepted, time-tested university format to talk about his best-selling book on Palestine and to answer questions. If he can't say these things, probably no one can.

That he has recently provoked controversy is undeniable. That he comes from the mainstream of American political life is equally irrefutable. He does not represent the boundary limits of free speech: He was not shouting "Fire!" in the crowded auditorium, nor is he an incendiary figure from the radical right or left, much as some would like to push him to those margins.

The questions asked by members of the Brandeis community were not, as moderator Mari Fitzduff said, squishy matzah balls. After speaking for 15 minutes, Carter was pointedly questioned for another 45 about statements in his book that have caused alarm, the appropriateness of its title, funding of the Carter Center, the realism of his solutions, the rationale for the separation wall in Palestinian territory-in short, with the utmost in derech eretz (good manners and respect), Brandeis students put him through the examination that he deserves and has asked for. In turn, he compelled us to examine our own beliefs and perspectives. That's what's supposed to happen at universities and is the process through which students learn to think for themselves. Last Tuesday I experienced the University that I have always wanted to work for.

Carter's visit demonstrates to the Brandeis community, and beyond, that we are capable of civil controversy (Now, can we do it without the aura of the Presidency and a phalanx of Secret Service agents?). Moreover, the way we talk affects the way we think. Politics may have degenerated to mudslinging, marginalizing opponents, and rebutting what they say immediately. But successful discourse depends on listening to, reflecting on and understanding what people have to say, especially when we do not agree with them. We need not reside in an iPod society where everyone listens only to what they like.

In the early 1960s, with American cities in turmoil, my Jewish parents went to hear Malcolm X speak at the Ford Hall Forum in Boston (They were not contemplating joining the Nation of Islam.). As an undergraduate, I went to hear Roy Cohn, of McCarthy infamy, and questioned him about his improprieties as a prosecutor in the Rosenberg trial. I recently heard Shmuel Trigano, a French and Jewish intellectual, speak at Brandeis. Among other things, he said that photographs of dead children in Beirut after last summer's war were blood libel, and thus anti-Semetic (this was acceptable Freudian free association, but unfortunate public discourse.). None of these audiences needed an ideological wet nurse reassuring them immediately afterwards with a comforting "other side." Each of these speakers said things worth thinking about. Thinking-that's why you go to college!

Yale President Kingman Brewster said at his 1964 inaugural, "Universities should be safe havens where the ruthless examination of realities will not be distorted by the aim to please or inhibited by the risk of displeasure." We at Brandeis welcomed Jimmy Carter into our own safe haven. I am proud to have written to him, suggesting his visit. The Brandeis University motto is "Truth, even unto its innermost parts." Since we don't always know where the truth is, we need a way to go look for it. President Carter's visit shows that we have the capacity to conduct that exploration.

Harry Mairson is a professor of computer science and chair of the Faculty Senate.