U. of Maryland vs Oklahoma: Student Speech

[seminole4life1]

The President of U. of Maryland goes a very different route regarding student speech.



"Justice rushed is justice compromised.
There are gray areas where competing rights and values clash. As president, it is my responsibility to see that they are all taken into account in addressing this case.
Speech that demeans, dehumanizes, and elicits fear in others is ‘hate speech.’ It violates the fundamental right to human dignity: every person — regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation — has the right to be included and respected as a member of our society. It causes personal and collective harm.
Free speech is also a fundamental right in our democracy. It is reflected in the adage ‘I condemn what you say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.’ Not sanctioning speech that is odious and hurtful is a price that we pay to live in a free society.
We fight speech with more speech."

This post was edited on 3/18 12:51 PM by seminole4life1

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

I always admire people that have the courage to take unpopular positions.

 

[tommynole3476]

I don't know if you can say he is going a 'very different route.'

The student/s in question may still be expelled after the investigation is complete.

Although it does seem that the MD President is going to be more proactive in working to make the campus less hostile or racist/sexist, etc.

But that could be nothing more than some flyers or a town hall that accomplishes little to nothing; but it is definitely better than the impression Doren gave by making it seem they eradicated racism from their campus by expelling the two students.

The MD president isn't punishing the students as quickly, but that might have more to do with it being a video versus an email.

 

[seminole4life1]

Originally posted by tommynole3476:
I don't know if you can say he is going a 'very different route.'

The student/s in question may still be expelled after the investigation is complete.

Although it does seem that the MD President is going to be more proactive in working to make the campus less hostile or racist/sexist, etc.

But that could be nothing more than some flyers or a town hall that accomplishes little to nothing; but it is definitely better than the impression Doren gave by making it seem they eradicated racism from their campus by expelling the two students.

The MD president isn't punishing the students as quickly, but that might have more to do with it being a video versus an email.

I disagree the action and message is very different. OU "solved" the issue by immediately expelling two students and sending a clear message about speech. The entire route was about "justice" and going with the simple minded public opinion.

Dr. Loh acknowledges the nuance which is so incredibly important when dealing with speech issues. I applaud him for taking a different route- "justice" may result in this student being expelled also (I would disagree with that move) but the fact that he is pledging a careful examination of first amendment jurisprudence and makes the statement "darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that... I believe that education is the light" puts me on his side much more so than the OU president.