College in Illinois Outlaws ‘Disparaging Comments’
“hate speech, disparaging comments, epithets, or slurs which create a hostile environment”
Who gets to decide which words are disparaging? Isn’t that a rather subjective thing?
Campus Reform reports:
‘Disparaging comments’ outlawed at Illinois college
Students at Carl Sandburg College could now be subject to “disciplinary proceedings” for the use of “offensive language” or “hate speech.”
According to the Illinois community college’s Student Code of Conduct, administrators “may initiate disciplinary proceedings against” a student who “is verbally abusive; threatens; uses offensive language; intimidates; engages in bullying, cyber bullying, or hazing; [or] uses hate speech, disparaging comments, epithets, or slurs which create a hostile environment.”
In addition, the Code of Conduct allows school officials to punish any student who “initiates or participates in incidents of bias and hate crimes.”
Sam Harris, vice president of policy research at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), told Campus Reform that the restrictive policy would earn the school FIRE’s notorious red light rating, which is reserved for institutions with “at least one policy that both clearly and substantially restricts freedom of speech.”
“A public school certainly cannot punish students for any and all ‘offensive language’ or ‘disparaging comments,’ nor is ‘hate speech’ a legally cognizable category of speech unprotected by the First Amendment,” Harris explained, noting that “while some speech that is offensive or hateful may also constitute threats, harassment, etc., and for that reason be unprotected, most offensive [or] hateful speech is wholly protected by the First Amendment.”
Harris went on to suggest that Carl Sandburg College, as a public institution, could be “highly vulnerable” to a lawsuit if it continues to uphold the cited policy.
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Comments
Illinois cowboys at home on the range…
…where never is heard a discouraging word.
And the snowflakes keep crying all day.
So much for painted women under the gas lamps.
Hey, buddy, what did you mean by that crack about big shoulders?
Presumably, the next step by college administrators will be to declare that any statement on any topic which does not contain an expression of unprecedentedly enthusiastic and unconditional praise, support and approval for all other students at that college will be automatically regarded as a “disparaging comment”.
Another Harris, Kamala that is, would probably be standing on a chair giving this Code of Conduct a rousing ovation. She is the author of Senate Resolution 118. The history behind the drafting of this resolution is most interesting.
If I was a student there I’d hard press the case that any language by anyone which infringed or espoused infringement on any of my God-given or Constitutional rights is “hate speech.” Why do you hate me and my rights?
Who gets to decide which words are disparaging? Isn’t that a rather subjective thing?
And, will it be applied evenly, without regard to race, gender, political affiliation, and sexual identity?
Or, are some animals more equal than others?
Hate speech? And they are going to lead the revolution? This going to be fun.
“Hate speech” is simply whatever ideas the people holding the power “hate.” Any rule against “hate speech” is a power grab by the people in power to consolidate their control by shutting down any opposition. These kinds of rules are exactly what the First Amendment was created to protect us against.
He called me white.