LAST FRIDAY, The Daily Progress reported that a group of students is "working with University Law professors and administrators to craft a change" that will "standardize" University Judiciary Committee sanctions against students found guilty of hate-motivated violations. This group (of four students) also wants to add a "13th tenet to the Standards of Conduct," specifically addressing verbal harassment. The recent spur of racial incidents has left our student body undeniably mired in a state of malaise. However, aggression against the First Amendment, no matter how subtle, is a misdirected and superficial response.
Historically, such campus speech codes have not faired well in court. In 1988, the University of Michigan faced several racial incidents, particularly the dispersion of a flyer that declared "open season" on blacks. In reaction, UM passed a policy which prohibited any speech which "creates an intimidating, hostile, or demeaning environment for educational pursuits, employment or participation in University sponsored
Read More
EDITORIAL: Virginia’s political parties have left our universities boarded up
By Editorial Board | YesterdayThe destabilizing consequences of the present appointment process have revealed critical and unsustainable fault lines that rest within our political system.
DUTTENHOFER: Cutting research cuts out students
By Lucy Duttenhofer | 3 days agoKneecapping the foundation of the country’s research enterprise just to follow nativist principles is an absurdly self-defeating, short-sighted strategy that is a threat to us all.
KURTZWEIL: Big Brother is infiltrating immigration enforcement
By Paul Kurtzweil | 6 days agoWhile this law does work to restrict the camera use, the data is still very loosely regulated, leaving it exposed to outside interference.
