U. North Dakota President Won’t Discipline Students for Racially Charged Snapchats
The First Amendment still rules at some schools.
There is no doubt that blackface is offensive but you have to admire the president of the University of North Dakota for taking a brave stance on zero tolerance policies.
The Washington Examiner reports:
University president rejects ‘zero tolerance’ policy for speech
The president of the University of North Dakota has rejected student demands for a “zero tolerance” policy on offensive speech.
The demands came in response to two racist Snapchat photos that were taken within 48 hours of each other. In one photo, three white students had locked a female black student out of a dorm room and took a photo with the caption “locked the black b—-h out.”The
The second photo was of four white women in black face with the caption “Black lives matter.” The Star Tribune, which reported on the photos, could not determine whether the four women were UND students.
UND President (and former Republican Congressman) Mark Kennedy condemned the photos in a message to students shortly after they were discovered.
“I am appalled that within 48 hours two photos with racially charged messages have been posted on social media and associated with the UND campus community,” Kennedy wrote. “It is abundantly clear that we have much work to do at the University of North Dakota in educating our students, and the entire university community on issues related to diversity, inclusion and respect for others.”
But Kennedy also ensured that investigations into the photos would follow due process, even though he acknowledged that many in the campus community wanted “a swift resolution.”
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