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The hidden scandal of Princeton's speech code
Published: Thursday, September 11th, 2008
Over the past three years at Princeton, every time I saw another student publication at my door, a demonstration in front of Frist, or heard of our administration's continued support for the academic freedom of Peter Singer, I became ...(back to the article)
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well written article
thanks for discussing this topic
what's the big deal?
the university policy says "severe and/or pervasive", just not "severe and pervasive"
the policy also includes: "each situation must be considered in light of the specific facts and circumstances to determine if a violation of this policy has occurred"
Though the totalitarian speech suppressing instinct does not seem to have taken hold at Princeton like it has at so many other campuses, it is nonetheless embarrassing that Old Nassau should have such illiberal provisions on its books. I note that FIRE rates Penn and Dartmouth as "green lights" and Yale as a "yellow light". Surely we can do better! It should be no comfort that Princeton occupies the same "red light" district as Harvard, Cornell, Columbia and Brown.
11-- the "big deal" would be if this policy affected you, or one of your friends. The policy is written so loosely that it could apply to many things that most of us wouldn't find problematic. The key is the second part that you quoted, the "each situation" section. That's classic weasel language which leaves _all_ of the discetion with the reviewing official. You don't want that, in any situation, or in any policy -- unless you're the official in power. It makes administrative review almost impossible, and it can yield arbitrary and different results based on inconsistent factors.
thanks for the interesting perspective on this very important issue
Kudos to the Daily Princetonian and Michael Davidson. As a Princeton parent I couldn't be happier to see open discourse heralded as a primary goal of a liberal arts education. Free speech cannot be taken for granted. Thanks!
2 years probation and 50 hours of service for swearing at a public safety officer...yeah, the administration abuses this policy.