k4yqkhk

DO ScHOOLS pROmOTE A FREE ExcHANGE OF IDEAS?Of the colleges and universities in this report, nota single one merited the Foundation for IndividualRights in Education’s “green light” rating, meaningno interference with freedom of speech andexpression.It is deeply disturbing that so many colleges havepolicies that discourage or punish the vigorous andfree-ranging debate that should be characteristic ofa liberal arts college, and which those institutionspurport to encourage. The University of Richmond’sstudent handbook prohibits “disruption,” a categoryso broad that it makes anything the school deems“disorderly conduct” or “inappropriate behavior orexpression” subject to disciplinary action. WesleyanUniversity prohibits “actions that may be harmfulto the health or emotional stability of the individualor that degrade the individual or infringe on his/herpersonal dignity,” a prohibition, again, so broad asto silence discussion on any controversial issue aboutwhich even one person may take offense. 32Middlebury College’s General Conduct policy isdistressingly vague: subjecting “behavior unbecomingof a Middlebury student” or “flagrant disrespect forpersons” to disciplinary action. Macalester College’sstudent handbook warns that individuals “will beheld accountable for postings that are not respectfulof Macalester College community standards.”Wellesley College prohibits the use of school e-mail“in a manner that is construed by another as hateful,threatening or harassing,” making the standard ofcompliance wholly dependent on the recipient’ssubjective reaction. 33One school, Vassar College, makes no effort to fosterfree speech, stating clearly in its faculty and studenthandbooks that it values “civility” over a commitmentto free speech:Members of the College community acceptconstraints, similar to those of parliamentarydebate against personal attacks or courts oflaw against the use of inflammatory language.Under the rule of civility, individuals within thecommunity are expected to behave reasonably,use speech responsibly, and respect the rights ofothers. Genuine freedom of mind is not possiblein the absence of civility. 34But do students applying to Vassar understand thatthey will be entering a place where violating “the sensitivitiesof others” is seen as an offense against “thesensibilities of the entire community”?The late, renowned historian C. Vann Woodwardclearly took a different position and called a university’s“primary function . . . to discover and disseminateknowledge,” writing:It follows that the university must do everythingpossible to ensure within it the fullest degree ofintellectual freedom. The history of intellectualgrowth and discovery clearly demonstrates theneed for unfettered freedom, the right to think16 EDUCATION OR REPUTATION? A LOOK AT AmERIcA’S TOp-RANKED LIBERAL ARTS cOLLEGES