But this was translated into a crackdown on civil liberties, an unnecessary war and some very dark days for the United States.

CNN: In the face of terror, keep calm

During the Vietnam War, during the civil rights movement, during the McCarthy era - John McCarthy in the United States, the Communist witch hunt era - university presidents stood up, made controversial provocative and in some cases very courageous statements about what society should be doing.

BBC: NEWS | UK | Education | Higher education 'market' warning