Many are aware of a controversial part of The Vagina Monologues in which the audience is encouraged to "reclaim" a certain slur beginning with c that is sometimes used against women. Unfortunately, the idea of using derogatory words to draw attention to their effects in society has met...
(4) Comments | Posted May 17, 2012 | 11:58 AM
The latest conflict between Georgetown's commitment to free speech and its Catholic identity has thrust the university into the news again. Just weeks ago, Representative Paul Ryan's appearance at Georgetown was challenged by critics, and this month's conflict involves Georgetown's invitation to Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the U.S....
(43) Comments | Posted May 3, 2012 | 6:50 PM
Every year at Tufts, student groups design T-shirts to celebrate Spring Fling. This year, members of the crew team were punished because their T-shirts said "check out our cox":
Members of the team aren't talking publicly, but we think we...
(17) Comments | Posted April 10, 2012 | 12:52 PM
Today I want to look at just one aspect of the Zimmerman/Martin case: the "hoodie" that Trayvon Martin reportedly was wearing when he was identified by George Zimmerman as a potential threat to the neighborhood. The idea that this common item of clothing could be perceived as marking someone as...
(8) Comments | Posted January 19, 2012 | 4:53 AM
It was barely a year ago that Syracuse University was at the top of this list of the "12 Worst Colleges for Free Speech" here at the Huffington Post. Back then, the law school had threatened to expel a student for taking part in a satirical...
(3) Comments | Posted January 6, 2012 | 5:30 PM
The concept of freedom of speech is a great uniting idea in the United States. Although many are quick to find an exception when it's their own ox being gored (what the celebrated civil libertarian Nat Hentoff called, in his famous book, Free Speech for Me--But Not for...
(5) Comments | Posted August 30, 2011 | 11:14 AM
When precisely did we decide that we want the federal government in our sex lives?
At the end of last academic year, the Campus SaVE Act was introduced in both houses of Congress. One strange mandate in it is that almost all colleges in America must teach students...
(131) Comments | Posted January 11, 2011 | 3:44 PM
Yesterday morning, UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau e-mailed the campus community with regard to the horrendous mass shooting in Arizona that killed a federal judge, a 9-year-old girl, and several others while gravely injuring Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the apparent target of the attack.
Like many others in the news...
(0) Comments | Posted May 25, 2012 | 5:16 PM