Posted on 07/14/2004 10:27:43 AM PDT by SteveH
July 11, 2004 -- State University of New York Chan cellor Robert King has a major scandal on his hands at upstate SUNY-Brockport: The campus thought-cops have repealed the First Amendment.
King needs to reinstate it — fast.
Freshman Robert Wojich and senior Patricia Simpson have sued in federal court, claiming the school's racial- and sexual-harassment codes unconstitutionally restrict free speech.
In the name of battling "harassment," SUNY-Brockport takes aim at such actions as name-calling, "discussing sexual activities" — gee, did the '60s free-sex crowd become Victorians when they grew up? — insulting cartoons and, yes, "ethnic jokes."
Violators of such "offenses" are "subject to the campus judicial system."
Big Brother would be proud: Bad taste has been outlawed by timorous bureaucrats.
The plaintiffs happen to be College Republicans and claim that the very existence of the harassment code has been used by faculty members to intimidate their group.
But their political background is irrelevant.
No university — a place where free expression and speech should be valued above all else — can permit censorship and manipulation of thought.
Worse, King himself seems not to have a clue.
"The university strongly supports the First Amendment rights of our students, faculty and community members," said a SUNY spokesman Friday.
So far, so good.
Then: "The law permits certain limits on free speech — such as yelling 'Fire!' in a crowded theater," added the flack.
Wrong.
The law is permitted to prohibit falsely shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theater" — a critical distinction wholly lost on Chancellor King, it seem.
So let's clear that up.
To justify such a defense, Brockport needs to demonstrate that its speech codes are meant to protect students from imminent danger to life or limb. And that notion is patently ridiculous.
Then came the weasel words: "University policy prohibits commenting on pending or ongoing litigation."
Of course it does.
Otherwise SUNY might have to explain why it allows the thought-police to undermine the integrity of a potentially great university.
King must repeal the codes.
End of story.
End of story?! You never even mentioned the original point of contention! Why are the students of the opinion that they are the victims of the thought police? What started this whole thing? Was someone censored? A cartoon quashed? WHAT?!
Give me context!
From AP via Newsday via F.I.R.E. here
Two students sue state college over speech policy
June 8, 2004, 10:08 PM EDT
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Two students are suing the State University of New York College at Brockport to overturn parts of its speech policy that they believe are unconstitutional.
The lawsuit is the fourth such case filed by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a group dedicated to academic freedom. The group is seeking to rid public campuses of policies that violate students' constitutional rights, said Greg Lukianoff, the group's director of Legal and Public Advocacy.
"Not only does SUNY Brockport tell students what not to say, it actually tells them what they must say and even what they must think," he said.
The suit was filed June 3 in U.S. District Court in Buffalo on behalf of students Patricia Simpson and Robert Wojick, members of the Brockport College Republicans.
The suit claims that faculty members twice deemed materials distributed by the student group as offensive. A pamphlet showing photographs of outspoken liberal celebrities saying, "Bring Back the Blacklist," drew an angry response from a faculty member who demanded it be removed from the group's informational table, the lawsuit said.
Another faculty member ordered that the group be denied funding or shut down after reading a flier encouraging the college community to help "End Liberal Indoctrination on Campus," the lawsuit said.
Lukianoff said the college's policy, which applies to students and faculty, bans constitutionally protected speech, including "cartoons that depict religious figures in compromising situations," "calling someone an 'old bag,"' or "making fun of any protected group," he said.
The college also orders students and faculty to promote its sexual harassment policy and condemn all sexual harassment as defined in it, Lukianoff said.
"Censorship is bad enough, but requiring individuals to voice opinions with which they do not agree is both unconstitutional and morally outrageous," Lukianoff said.
A call to SUNY Brockport was not immediately returned Tuesday evening.
Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania and Citrus College in Glendora, Calif. revised their student conduct codes after the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education filed suit. The group's case against Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas is ongoing.
Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press
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