Author Ann Patchett of Nashville, Tenn., speaks to the incoming freshman class in Littlejohn Coliseum on Tuesday in Clemson. Ms. Patchett, author of "Truth & Beauty," a book for the Clemson University Summer Reading Program, spoke about the popular and controversial book.

Clemson University president Jim Barker, right, and Marcia Barker, left, listen along with the incoming freshman class to Ann Patchett on Tuesday in Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson.

CLEMSON - Academic freedom and personal relationships were some recurring themes when author Ann Patchett addressed Clemson University students Tuesday.

"Don’t ever let anyone tell you what you are allowed to read," was one of the statements she made at the convocation for incoming Clemson freshmen.

Ms. Patchett, the speaker at the event, is the author of "Truth & Beauty." The non-fiction book, a summer reading selection for incoming Clemson freshman, is the story of a friendship between Ms. Patchett and Lucy Grealy, the author of "Autobiography of a Face."

But implicit in that desire is the assumption that those being protected have very little intellect and no filter through which to evaluate what they experience, the author said.

The chance to receive higher education is a privilege, and Clemson students should be proud they attend a school where they are treated as adults, she said.

Students attend Clemson to open their minds, she said. When one student asked about Ms. Patchett’s views regarding finding true love and maintaining it, the author advised not to look for it in college.

A number of students asked Ms. Patchett about her relationship with Ms. Grealy, asking if the author ever felt the friendship to be a responsibility.

In any personal relationship, the people involved are likely to disagree at times, Ms. Patchett said. But she said she believes friendships are one type of relationship in which people should try to work through difficult times and to "stick it out," she said.

The questioning took a different tone at one point when a student asked how many times Ms. Patchett had cheated on her husband, implying that the book indicates the author would be the type of person to do such a thing.

"I don’t think that judging people harshly, especially if you have not walked in their shoes, is a good thing or a right thing to do," Ms. Patchett replied.

When the question elicited some shocked responses and boos from the audience, Ms. Patchett said it was fine for people to ask hard questions. In a press conference following the convocation, the author said she gave the student credit for speaking.

"It’s not exposing us to things we don’t already know about, and it’s not teaching us to do these things," said Mary-Frances Rogers of Walterboro.

Ms. Patchett was asked after the convocation whether the controversy that arose at Clemson has helped increase sales of the book. The effect is insignificant, if its exists, she said, and any potential rise in sales is not worth the personal toll of being the subject of the controversy.

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