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Three strikes
There are some universities that distinguish themselves not by the quality of the education they offer, but by the consistency with which they manage to violate the rights of their students and faculty. As FIRE has noted in a recent report, the University of North Carolina tops the list of America's most unconstitutionally repressive universities, with its outrageous speech codes, disrespect for religious liberty, and wrong-headed attempts to confine student expression to unconstitutional "free speech zones."
But UNC is not alone. Ohio University deserves a place on the list of America's least rights-conscious universities, too. First there is its Junior Executive Business Program for Minorities, which almost certainly violates Ohio's obligation not to discriminate against students on the basis of race. Then there is the university's new sexual harassment policy, which, even in its newly revised form, is nightmarishly unconscious of the free speech rights of faculty and students. Now there is the university's little problem with age discrimination--the Ohio Civil Rights Commission has just ruled that in 2001, the university engaged in age discrimination when it denied tenure to an engineer who had more than met the requirements for tenure, but who was also considerably older than most candidates.
As a public university, Ohio University is legally bound to respect the constitutional rights of faculty and students. But the examples above not only show that the school is very far from meeting this legal obligation, but also suggest that the school is not particularly concerned with meeting it. Now would be a good moment for Ohio University trustees and alumni to take note and to take action. Ohio University ought to be better than this--but if recent events are any indication, it won't become better without some tactical pressure from these groups.
Posted by acta online on January 26, 2006 at January 26, 2006 07:46 AM
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