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posted by martyb on Friday August 26 2016, @10:37PM   Printer-friendly
from the beware-Roy-Rogers'-horse? dept.

Recent reporting and discussions here about "trolls" and the "culture of hate" (both con and pro) have repeatedly broached the topic of what appropriate limits to free expression might be.

Dean of Students John Ellison at the University of Chicago has taken a stand on the issue in a letter welcoming new students. He writes:

Once here you will discover that one of the University of Chicago's defining characteristics is our commitment to freedom of inquiry and expression. [...] Members of our community are encouraged to speak, write, listen, challenge, and learn, without fear of censorship. Civility and mutual respect are vital to all of us, and freedom of expression does not mean the freedom to harass or threaten others. You will find that we expect members of our community to be engaged in rigorous debate, discussion, and even disagreement. At times this may challenge you and even cause discomfort.

Our commitment to academic freedom means that we do not support so called 'trigger warnings,' we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual 'safe spaces' where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own.

While some have voiced support for Ellison's commitment to free expression (with Robby Soave at Reason encouraging readers to give the dean "a round of applause"), others are concerned about the implications of his message. L.V. Anderson at Slate agrees with much of the letter's content promoting "civility and mutual respect," but finds the last paragraph quoted above to be "weird" and unsettling:

By deriding "safe spaces" and "trigger warnings" before students arrive on campus, the University of Chicago is inadvertently sending a message that certain students—the ones who have never been traumatized, and the ones who have historically felt welcome on college campuses (i.e., white men)—are more welcome than others, and that students who feel marginalized are unlikely to have their claims taken seriously. Adults who decry "the coddling of the American mind" will likely celebrate U. Chicago's preemptive strike against political correctness, but students who have experienced violence, LGBTQ students, and students of color likely will not.


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  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 26 2016, @11:49PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 26 2016, @11:49PM (#393754)

    The invasion of Iraq began at the University of Chicago. It is the home of the "Chicago School" of thinking on economics and international relations. This is what happens to a university when they let right-wing nutjobs onto the faculty and into administration. Leo Strauss. Would not recommend.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 26 2016, @11:59PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 26 2016, @11:59PM (#393760)

    I hear ya. Right-wing nutjobs are my trigger. Vote Hillary.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 27 2016, @12:02PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 27 2016, @12:02PM (#393915)

      Right-wing nutjobs are my trigger. Vote Hillary.

      "I hate fruit, that's why I only eat bananas."

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 27 2016, @12:06AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 27 2016, @12:06AM (#393763)

    Princeton was also a hotbed of the neocons. If you remember the campus from the movie "A Beautiful Mind", perhaps you won't be surprised.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 27 2016, @12:19AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 27 2016, @12:19AM (#393768)

      Princeton is the farm for the people who have a farm. Cornell was where a bunch of the neo-cons got started. Allan Bloom, and so on.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 27 2016, @01:44AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 27 2016, @01:44AM (#393817)

    Off-topic diversion bullshit. Millenials with mod points and shit for brain at work,

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 27 2016, @03:35AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 27 2016, @03:35AM (#393846)

    Well thank god the left was there as the voice of prudence through the entire affair.

    The Chicago School is mostly identified with libertarianism, and as I recall were some of the most vocal critics of going to war even after Obama was elected.