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Quote of the day
Eastern Kentucky University president Joanne Glasser recently delivered her fall convocation speech to launch the new school year. In it, Glasser describes what she sees as one of the most important "building blocks" of the university's future:
ANOTHER IMPORTANT BUILDING BLOCK, ONE THAT TOUCHES ON MANY OF THE OTHERS WE'VE DISCUSSED, IS DIVERSITY -- CULTURAL ... INTELLECTUAL ... AND IN OUR STUDENT BODY AND OUR FACULTY AND STAFF.THIS, AS YOU KNOW, IS A SUBJECT NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART ... AND, AS I HAVE LEARNED, YOU SHARE THAT PASSION.
SO LET US CONTINUE WORKING HARD TO FOSTER A WARM AND WELCOMING CLIMATE FOR ALL OUR FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENTS.
LET US STAND STRONG AS A UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY AGAINST ALL FORMS OF HATRED ... PREJUDICE ... AND DISRESPECT.
LET US, THOUGHTFULLY AND PURPOSEFULLY, WORK TO BREAK DOWN BARRIERS, BOTH REAL AND IMAGINED, AND OPEN HEARTS AND MINDS.
LET US BE A BASTION OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AND LOOK OUT, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT BE MOST VULNERABLE TO DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT.
AND LET US BE COMMITTED TO THE PRINCIPLES OF FAIRNESS AND FREE SPEECH, EVEN WHEN WE MIGHT DISAGREE WITH THE CONTENT.
It's commonplace to see university leaders praising the importance of diversity, of tolerance, of equal opportunity and respect. It is not at all commonplace to see those evocations coupled with praise for intellectual diversity and reminders of the importance of free speech. President Glasser's comments set an important tone for her campus--and they also set an example for other academic leaders to follow as they welcome students and faculty back to campus this fall.
A truly diverse campus is one that embraces all forms of diversity--not just demographic diversity. And a truly vibrant campus is one that recognizes that it is more important to guarantee students' right to free expression than it is to protect students' woundable sensibilities with speech codes. A free campus culture--which is the only sort of campus culture worth having--is one where debate can take place, where views can clash, where ideas can be freely tested and contested, and where no one is insulated from viewpoints that differ--sometimes radically, sometimes painfully--from their own. Kudos to President Glasser for getting it. Too many people in her position don't.
Unfortunately, however, Glasser's comments do not mesh with EKU policy, which does contain a speech code. Consider the overbroad sexual harassment policy, which forbids such expressive activities as "sexually explicit language or writings;" "Sexually suggestive leering or other offensive gestures of a sexual nature;" and, among other things, "displaying or distributing sexually offensive posters, pictures, words or messages; sexual or derogatory comments about men/women on coffee mugs, hats, clothing, etc." Hugely capacious and disturbingly vague, this policy places sexual harassment firmly in the eye of the beholder; it is, in effect, whatever the accuser wants it to be. Hence the clause forbidding not only "unwelcome advances, propositions ... or demands for sexual favors," but also unwelcome "invitations." It's not hard to see how just about anyone could fall afoul of this policy at just about any time, simply by exercising reasonable expressive rights and reasonable judgement about interacting with others. Perhaps President Glasser could demonstrate her commitment to free speech and intellectual diversity on campus by eliminating EKU's speech code.
Posted by acta online at August 25, 2006 10:08 AM
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Comments
EKU's sexual harassment policy seems to suggest that a student who doesn't report a professor's use of Wikipedia could be in violation. Students as vigilantes in defense of self? Very scary.
Posted by: erica at August 25, 2006 11:26 AM