Freedom of speech at Middlebury?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Middlebury College
141

@MWolf: To directly answer your question:

“Does inviting a person who is known to be harassing to be a speaker on campus, also constitute harassment ?”

Not in this case as the group or person inviting the speaker to campus do not control the speaker’s words or actions, but do specify the topic. Also, this is not a conspiracy to incite a riot or to cause direct harm to another.

While topics can be disturbing to listeners, an important part of education is to challenge individuals to think & analyze beyond their comfort zone. And, as I alluded to in my post above, speaking on controversial topics which affect specific groups of individuals or specific beliefs can have a unifying effect.

142

@MWolf: Please note that my responses in posts #139 & #140 do NOT address your paragraph #2 in your post #138.

The speaker was not invited to speak at this college campus for that purpose, and there is no indication that such statements were even contemplated.

In short, I am not going to take the bait & lead this conversation into an inflammatory area based on speculation or based on another’s agenda without any supporting facts whatsoever.

P.S. It is very important to note that the invited speaker did in fact speak to a political science class at Middlebury College even though he did not speak in a forum open to the entire campus & others. Apparently, no inflammatory comments were made. And this speaker is going to be invited back to speak again at Middlebury College.

143

I look at this from an economic perspective. LACs which make headlines for suppressing free speech are going to feel it in the pocketbook or, at the very least, become an echo chamber of extreme non-diversity of thought. All of these colleges need full pay students to survive. In an era where STEM is king and LACs are viewed as a waste of money by many, there are only so many full pay students who are going to want to attend an institution with a reputation of suppressing free speech and students protesting more than attending class. Most students want to learn and hopefully get a job in their desired field, without such distraction. There are only so many students who want a SJW degree.

144

@vistajay Evergreen State College, a public LAC, certainly took a big hit in enrollment after becoming embroiled in protests and controversy (not from an off campus speaker but rather a faculty member who committed wrongspeak). https://heterodoxacademy.org/update-evergreen-state-college/. And Evergreen is arguably a college that is most likely to attract those interested in social justice issues.

145

@vistajay: To some, this may make Middlebury College appear as an exciting place to study. Passion is healthy so long as it does not result in the suppression of the free exchange of ideas.

146

@Publisher , whatever the truth of the matter, Middlebury has not been in the news recently for the “free exchange of ideas.” It’s an excellent school, but for the college consumer who can afford to pay $80,000 a year and for those with academic chops to get into a school like Middlebury regardless of their socio-economic background, there are many other excellent options without all the BS.

147

@vistajay: Testing boundaries is not “BS”. Folks on both sides of the free speech issues are learning.

P.S. While in my first year at law school, my criminal law professor repeatedly made a statement that has long been proven true: “Bad people make good law.”.

148

@vistajay I agree. Especially for moderate or conservative students. Add in Middlebury’s financial problems and caveat emptor. Still a new president could do a lot to get the school back on track. The place has enormous potential.

149

@Publisher I was not trying to bait you or anything of the sort. I wanted to know what your opinion was on whether the act of inviting the speaker could be considered “harassment”, based on opinions and actions for which they are known, regardless of what they are scheduled to say or do on campus. Your responses #140 and #141 provided your opinion, which is, as I understand it, that, so long as the actions for which the speaker is explicitly being brought to campus cannot be defined as harassment, the action of inviting and bringing the speaker to campus is not harassment.

I only used the case I did, because I did not want to get sidelined into a discussion as to whether what Ryszard Legutko did and does outside of campus can be considered harassment.

Thank you for clarifying your position.

@vistajay As a person who spent many years in academia, the use of “consumer” for a student at a college bothers me immensely. That type of attitude is what is, essentially, destroying academia, since it makes colleges about “costumer satisfaction”, not education.

Instructors cannot enforce standards because that would not leave satisfied costumers. after all, if “the costumer is always right”, how can an instructor give anything less than an A to any student who feels that they deserve, or want, an A? Isn’t the costumer always right? If a student contradicts an instructor in class, the instructor should agree, since “the costumer is always right”.

It is more important that an instructor be entertaining than that they be effective educators, since it’s all about “costumer satisfaction”. Anonymous student rating become the only measure by which professors are evaluated, since it’s all about costumer satisfaction, right? Research grinds to a halt, because it does not contribute to the satisfaction of the students. Money should be invested only in dorms, gyms, cafeterias, not libraries or labs, because that is what keeps the costumers satisfied. If the parent is the “consumer”, it is no different.

For all - a counterpart to Middlebury, it is worthwhile looking at the case of Irami Osei-Frimpong, the UGA grad student who was suspended because a bunch of alumni did not like some of his more inflammatory posts on FB. It is interesting to compare the responses to this case to the responses to the Middlebury fiascoes.

150

Nope. But if you really like the school dig deeper and see what is being done/or not to preserve/respect free speech. While you could go and ignore it, this may impact you ability to learn. For any school, free speech is entirely important to learn effectively and try on new ideas. I learned a lot in college about philosophies and views that were not my own. They only strengthened by ability to think. Sadly, believe that is missing from many campuses today.

151

@MWolf: I googled “Irami Osei-Frimpong suspension”. The suspension was from Face Book, not the university.

In accordance with what I have written in this thread, Irami Osei-Frimpong’s face book posts are protected speech from the standpoint of the university. He is, however, under disciplinary review for making false statements on his graduate school application to the University of Georgia. Apparently he forgot to list his graduate study at two universities (Chicago & Tufts) when applying to the University of Georgia.

His speech does not offend me and I am a member of his target group.

I want to hear his opinions & thoughts, but the 45 minute 46 second youtube video is beyond boring & lacks any intellectual value whatsoever.

152

@Publisher https://www.redandblack.com/uganews/uga-judiciary-deliberates-on-conduct-charges-for-graduate-assistant-irami/article_77e6f436-68eb-11e9-bc87-7303467044b7.html

Well, he’s not in trouble over badly stated political ramblings, because if that were the case, most campuses would look like ghost towns…

153

@MWolf: I read both Red & Black articles before my post #150 in this thread. (The other Red & Black article is an opinion piece supporting his right to free speech.)

154

Irami Osei-Frimpong, defended by FIRE: https://www.thefire.org/fire-warns-university-of-georgia-and-state-attorney-general-to-end-speech-chilling-investigation-into-tas-protected-expression/

155

@Corinthian I respect FIRE as non-partisan and fair minded, like the Heterodox Academy and the Free Speech Project. The reason that I brought up Osei-Frimpong is that I actually think that his opinions raise the same concerns as some of the right wing speakers. More so because he is a student attending the university. While I do not find any opinion or action to be a credible threat against the rights of the ruling majority, physical threats are another story altogether.

156

Yes, in my opinion it is a worry. The University of Chicago has taken the lead in rejecting this suppression of freedom of speech. See https://freeexpression.uchicago.edu
About 35 other universities have adopted UoC’s policy.
Also, see Jonathan Haidt’s “Coddling of the American Mind”
Just say no.

157

“It’s an excellent school, but for the college consumer who can afford to pay $80,000 a year and for those with academic chops to get into a school like Middlebury regardless of their socio-economic background, there are many other excellent options without all the BS.”

If the OP could please post here the alternatives they found in the Northeast it would be appreciated. D3 won’t be looking for another year but having just had D2 graduate from Rutgers and D1 gettting BA/MA at BC, I would like to hear about other schools that tolerate free (not hate) speech. Spouse and I already know D3 won’t be attending either school sibs went to due to the many stories they told us of intolerance on both campuses by students and their professors. Not paying $$$$ for that again. Thanks in advance.

158

Go visit Colgate. You will find mostly moderate students. The administration is committed to open and inclusive discussions of various points of view.