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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.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday August 27 2016, @01:57AM
And, you are advocating that the nuts run the asylum? Students don't get a voice in the administration of the college - more news at 11:00.
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(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Saturday August 27 2016, @02:14AM
And, you are advocating that the nuts run the asylum?
Strange you would say this, Mr. Runaway1956, inmate #2926! Have you checked your mod points lately? All I am saying is that this method seems to work fine for SoylentNews. Buzzards excepted, of course.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Saturday August 27 2016, @05:10AM
And, how many karma points do you think I have?
I'll tell you a secret. You and I are vocal members of this community, but the community includes a lot of people who are less vocal.
There are more vocal members who lean liberal here, than there are vocal members who lean right. My views appeal more to the right than they do to the left, so there is a lot of vocal opposition to my views. But, at moderation time, my karma stays pretty high.
Oh, I take a hit now and then. Yes, I surely do, because my views aren't really right - I'm an independent who leans libertarian. So, my views sometimes don't appeal to either left or right. But, at the end of the day, when a discussion is closed up, I have more +mods than -mods, almost always.
And, for that you should be grateful. Your views are heard, my views are heard, and both are judged by the community. And, no, I don't maintain a half dozen sock puppet accounts to maintain my karma - don't even ask.
I do remember a couple incidents of "mod bombing". Someone or other saved up his mod points, and went through my posts, and modded "spam" until he ran out of points. That was rather funny - the guy spent all that time and energy as well as his mod points, only to be shown a fool when the staff got on his arse.
But, tell me something, Aristarchus. Are you here to be "popular"? I happen to be somewhat popular, I guess, or my karma would be around zero. But that's NOT the reason I am here. I would have the same things to say if my karma were -50. How 'bout you?
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(Score: 3, Funny) by aristarchus on Saturday August 27 2016, @07:46PM
Popular? You are popular? More like infamous!! But the traditional position about publicity is that it doesn't matter what people are saying about you, as long as they are talking about you.
Here to be popular? Me? I don't even know who I am.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 27 2016, @02:29AM
> Students don't get a voice in the administration of the college
Did you not attend college?
Of course they get a voice. That's part of the college experience.
Self-governance, challenging authority, etc in college it is all practice for doing it in real life.
It is so weird that you conceive of college students as simultaneously incompetent "nuts" and fully adult mighty intellectual warriors.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 27 2016, @05:38PM
It is so weird that you conceive of college students as simultaneously incompetent "nuts" and fully adult mighty intellectual warriors.
There's no contradiction in saying that a lot of college students are incompetent nuts and also saying that that shouldn't be the case.