Posted on 05/01/2007 12:49:10 PM PDT by dmh191
CAMPUS ALERT-FREE speech is on trial today at Tufts University in Massachusetts.
This afternoon, the editors of "The Primary Source," a conservative student publication, will go before the school's student judiciary panel to answer charges leveled against the paper by other students.
The charges at the disciplinary hearing include "harassment" and "breach of community standards." The actual "crimes"? Satirical articles published in TPS in the past few months - specifically, a Christmas carol parody lampooning race-based admissions policies ("O Come All Ye Black Folk") and an Islamic Awareness Week article focusing on the religion's fundamentalist fringe ("The seven nations in the world that punish homosexuality with death all have fundamentalist Muslim governments.") Potential sanctions include the official dissolution of the paper.
Whether one agrees with the content of these articles, they are unquestionably clear examples of core political speech. Tufts, which advertises itself in its student handbook as "an open campus committed to the free exchange of ideas," should know better. You can bet that parents and students wouldn't be as willing to fork over Tufts' hefty tuition each semester (more than $45,000 per year, including housing) if they knew that once enrolled, they could be punished for voicing their political beliefs.
Instead of bringing "harassment" charges - which a real court would quickly throw out - students offended by TPS' content should just not read it. Or, better still, start their own paper. Tufts should honor its promises to students and cancel today's hearing.
Authored by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (thefire.org), a nonprofit group dedicated to defending constitutional rights at U.S. colleges and universities.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Since the publication “offended” the two most coddled, spoiled, privileged protected groups the publication must be silenced.
Ping
Have the people running this “university” not heard of the First Amendment to the US Consitution?
What is up with these nazis?
I disagree. They should hold the hearing and publicly affirm that the student newspaper clearly acted within the realm of protected free speech.
Canceling the hearing could be brushed off as the administration having come to an agreement with the students not to do such things in the future.
Holding the hearing and publicly affirming that they acted within their rights sends a much clearer message.
The seven nations in the world that punish homosexuality with death all have fundamentalist Muslim governments.”)
Is that true?
Yeah, right.
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