Oh cool! Free speech is awesome! So, that means that Oberlin is reversing it's position on cancelling classes if they even THINK they see someone who RESEMBLES a KKK guy on campus.
Right?
If you'd like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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Non tenured, she could be fired though there likely would be legal reprecussions, particularly given her status as a minority. I presume she never expresses her views in class, if she does she could be terminated tenured or not.
The free speech issue I find interesting is that of the President, who says nothing. Below is a statement, one of many, from the President of Northwestern University regarding Arthur, a well known Holocaust denier for decades. He comes up as an issue every few years. Tenured since thee 70s he meticulously keeps his views out of the classroom, doesn't relate them to the University in his writings, and as an electrical engineering professor, they're not relevant to his field. He can't be terminated. Even in those different circumstances, the University seems to be able to express their views. Not sure Oberlin's sentence about offending some people and not understanding her views is enough. Expressing ones disgust with bigots isn't an impingement of their rights, rather an expression of ours. As an aside it's interesting he validates his position with the policies of the Association of University Professors, a BDS supporter.
Northwestern University Associate Professor Arthur Butz recently issued a statement commending Iranian President Ahmadinejad's assertion that the Holocaust never happened. Butz is a Holocaust denier who has made similar assertions previously. His latest statement, like his earlier writings and pronouncements, is a contemptible insult to all decent and feeling people. While I hope everyone understands that Butz's opinions are his own and in no way represent the views of the University or me personally, his reprehensible opinions on this issue are an embarrassment to Northwestern.
There is no question that the Holocaust is a well-documented historical fact. The University has a professorship in Holocaust Studies endowed by the Holocaust Educational Foundation. Northwestern offers courses in Holocaust Studies and organizes conferences of academic scholars who teach in areas relating to the Holocaust. In addition, Northwestern hosts a summer Institute for Holocaust and Jewish Civilization. And most recently, a fellowship in the political science department has been established in my name by the Holocaust Educational Foundation. In short, Northwestern University has contributed significantly to the scholarly research of the Holocaust and remains committed to doing so.
Butz is a tenured associate professor in electrical engineering. Like all faculty members, he is entitled to express his personal views, including on his personal web pages, as long as he does not represent such opinions as the views of the University. Butz has made clear that his opinions are his own and at no time has he discussed those views in class or made them part of his class curriculum. Therefore, we cannot take action based on the content of what Butz says regarding the Holocaust - however odious it may be - without undermining the vital principle of intellectual freedom that all academic institutions serve to protect. Henry S. Bienen
President[5]