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Will Colleges Respect Your Child's
Rights?
Hundreds of thousands of families across North
America are now preparing their children for
college. As parents hustle to buy clothing, repair
second-hand cars, and otherwise fret about the
impending separation, they should consider how
their son or daughter's human rights will fare on
campus.
Their freedom of speech is particularly
vulnerable.
The Foundation for Individual Rights in
Education (FIRE) has just released its www.thefire.org/index.php/article/6178.html
Speech Code of the Month Award for August, which
recognizes abuses of First Amendment rights.
The winner? www2.stockton.edu/
Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, a public
institution allegedly bound by the
Constitution.
Stockton's www2.stockton.edu/affirmative_action/Student_Policy.htm
speech code policies contain several now-standard
provisions. For example, it prohibits "All forms of
unlawful discrimination based upon race, creed,
color, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, marital
status, familial status, affectional or sexual
orientation, atypical hereditary cellular or blood
trait, genetic information…or disability." It
considers discrimination to be present "even if
there was no intent…to harass or demean
another."
The policy is both vague and broad. Key terms
such as "derogatory" and "demeaning" are undefined
but, whatever they cover, classroom speech is
included. Thus, a student who argues an unpopular
position in class -- e.g. 'affirmative action is
racist because it discriminates against white men'
or 'gay marriage is against Biblical teachings' --
may be punished if another student feels offended.
Objective discrimination or an intent to harm need
not be present.
Stockton is not unique. Indeed, its speech code
policy is drawn directly from the widely-applied
New Jersey State ww2.wpunj.edu/adminsrv/hr/Newhr/ProhibitingDiscrimination_Harassment_
ostileEnvironments.htm
"Policy Prohibiting Discrimination, Harassment or
Hostile Environments in the Workplace." The
publicly-funded William Paterson University, also
in New Jersey, draws upon this State policy.
Recently Paterson www.ifeminists.net/introduction/editorials/2005/0727.html
censured a student-employee for responding in
private email to an unsolicited university
announcement that promoted a lesbian movie; he made
the 'mistake' of asking to be unsubscribed due to
religious objections. Paterson deemed his response
to be harassment and a threat of violence.
New Jersey's campuses are far from unique.
That's why FIRE www.thefire.org/index.php/topic/11
lists close to a hundred recent speech code cases
in its files. The complaints against students
include "sexually suggestive staring" and
"inappropriately directed laughter." FIRE also
offers a free online book, www.thefire.org/pdfs/5063_3523.pdf
"Guide to Free Speech on Campus" [.pdf
545.7KB]. As well, it provides a state-by-state
searchable www.thefire.org
database on university policies. (See www.thefire.org/index.php/schools/738
Harvard as an example.)
Many parents begin to financially plan for
higher education at their child's birth; many delay
retirement in order to pay tuition. They should be
outraged by how little respect their daughter or
son receives for that stiff tuition.
Parents may also be puzzled about why some
universities oppose free speech instead of
championing it.
One approach to an explanation is to view the
phenomenon as part of a general societal trend that
has pitted freedom of speech against tolerance as
though they were enemies. This trend claims that
expressing my dislike or criticism of the gender,
race or lifestyle of others is tantamount to
violating their civil rights.
The trend rests on a specific definition of
"tolerance". For many, tolerance means being
broad-minded. It means acknowledging the legal
right of others to a dissenting opinion, religious
belief or peaceful lifestyle such as
homosexuality.
The foregoing definition of tolerance does not
require stifling your own opinions or preferences,
which have an equal legal status.
Nor does it require you to personally accept
what you tolerate. Defending people's right to be
different doesn't involve taking them out to dinner
and a movie.
The current campus definition of tolerance
inverts the more traditional meaning and demands
personal acceptance. Tolerance becomes the active
celebration of 'diversity' and toleration requires
the suppression of the speech, views or peaceful
behavior that supposedly hinder diversity by making
'diverse others' uncomfortable. The 'others' are
usually members of a group that has been
historically oppressed, such as women, and are
deemed to now deserve special legal protection.
Thus, a bizarre scenario occurs: advocates of
tolerance call for censorship. Champions of
diversity narrow the range of expressible
attitudes. This is a form of
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspeak
Newspeak -- the fictional language in George
Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four that depicts a
totalitarian future. Orwell explained the purpose
of Newspeak: to reduce the very ability of people
to express subversive ideas and attitudes en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoughtcrime
("thoughtcrimes").
A fundamental way in which the reduction is
achieved is by destroying the meaning of
objectionable words by redefining them as their
opposites. For example, "War is Peace", "Tolerance
is Censorship" and "Diversity is the Removal of
Wrong Attitudes."
Making these new definitions work means
eliminating the old definitions and those who use
them. In Orwell's dystopian future, certain ideas
or attitudes become "unspeakable" and punishable.
On campuses, certain ideas or attitudes violate
speech codes and are punishable.
Both reflect an attempt to change how society
thinks through changing or eliminating words.
Parallels between Orwell and current academia
can be carried too far. But the existence of clear
parallels should concern every parent who has a
child heading toward campus.
Those parents should to do a Speech Code search
for the relevant campus in FIRE's database. Then,
they should do a similar FIRE search on Due Process
-- that is, how does that campus handle your
child's right to due process should he or she
express an "unspeakable" idea or attitude?
©2007, Wendy
McElroy
* * *
Wendy
McElroy is the editor of ifeminists.com
and a research fellow for The Independent Institute
in Oakland, Calif. She is the author and editor of
many books and articles, including her latest book,
Liberty for Women: Freedom and Feminism in the
21st Century. She lives with her husband in
Canada. E-Mail.
Also, see her daily blog at www.zetetics.com/mac
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