Free speech is flunking out on college campuses

Posted by sdesapio 9 years, 1 month ago to Education
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From the article:
"Women, sexual assault victims, people of color, transgender students. College campuses have created “safe spaces” for all sorts of marginalized groups. But in the process, one member of the campus community has lost precious real estate.

"Free speech."
SOURCE URL: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/free-speech-is-flunking-out-on-college-campuses/2015/10/22/124e7cd2-78f5-11e5-b9c1-f03c48c96ac2_story.html


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  • Posted by broskjold22 9 years ago
    I'm a climate denier. That's almost as bad as being a Holocaust denier, right? I heart capitalism, fossil fuels, nuclear power plants, dams, rockets, air travel, air conditioning, penicillin, coca cola, skyscrapers. I'm backwards, polluting, have no conscience, and only think for myself. Er. Of myself. Oh what's the difference anyway? I am ambivalent about gay marriage. Worst of all, I'm selfish...
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  • Posted by CircuitGuy 9 years, 1 month ago
    This article inspired me to search what a safe space is. OMG! It's something very messed up if this site is to be believed: http://safespacenetwork.tumblr.com/Sa...

    I have heard people condemn college campuses being PC. I think PC means saying "disabled" instead of "handicapped". Who cares? I don't want to bother anyone needlessly, so I'll used the polite term. The site I linked to is either a parody or an example of it going way overboard. They start off saying everyone should be able to "relax and fully express" themselves without fear of hearing anything offensive in a long list of ways. That's a contradiction. When you fully express yourself, someone might be offended. The correct way to deal with this IMHO is to learn social cues that indicate you're offending someone and then just stop doing it unless you have a constructive purpose. A horrible approach IMHO is to create "safe spaces" and urge everyone to avoid a long laundry list of ways you might offend someone. The list can never be long enough to replace Wheaton's Law.

    This "safe space" as used in the article is an Orwellian phrase: You can feel totally safe to express yourself as long as you express the right ideas.

    It's worth clicking through to Mr. Stascavage's supposedly offensive article. There's nothing offensive about it in the slightest degree. I found the appology to be more offensive b/c it talks about the wounds the Stascavage's article caused but doesn't say on what points they disagree.

    If this normal at college campuses, WTF has gone wrong?
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