Interesting tidbit–the same public highway (Route 7) that runs through Williams’ campus also passes through Middlebury, VT, just a stone’s throw from campus. Passes near Bennington College too.
And again the above statement clearly neglects a few things about free speech:
As originally intended in the constitution, it’s only meant to protect dissenting speech from legal prosecution by the government. It doesn’t mean one is free from possible consequences of exercising one’s free speech from other parties/venues whether it’s criticism…including harsh criticism or in the case of private institutions like Yale, private sector companies, or in some cases public sector agencies…mean one is free from possible negative consequences such as receiving a poor performance review or sometimes even being terminated.
How well do you think the “free speech” defense will work in the real adult world when an employee openly calls his/her boss an idiot to his/her face, publicly state a product from a rival company to superior to that of his/her employer, or insults clients/customers whether through insults or attempts at converting them to his/her own “one true religion” or when the exercise of his/her speech otherwise undermines the very nature of the job he/she is entrusted with?
Unless you can point me to a specific place in the Constitution, I don’t recall the First Amendment guaranteeing one’s freedom from being fired from his/her job as a consequence of exercising one’s free speech…especially if the employer is a private institution like Yale or a corporation.
Moreover, institutions and businesses have argued they are also exercising their “free speech” and “freedom of association” when they opt to discipline or even terminate employees who make statements which they feel call into question their ability to perform their jobs and/or that undermine their own institutional reputation/interests.
Just a few things to think about.
I see the Dean’s original email as an attempt to help students “learn the rules.” While it may be a slippery slope to some, I think there are areas in which the majority can agree. There is ambiguity in these rules, yes. But that doesn’t mean that we should quit being sensitive and just give up trying. We need to, if we expect to live graciously with one another.
I’d be surprised if “hard working” ever makes it into the accepted list of racial slurs considered off limits to civilized discourse.
If someone finds “sir” or “hard worker” offensive, they are wound way too tight. Time for a stick-ectomy, as my friends would say.
That said, am off to the supermarket, where it is senior citizens day. Anticipate being called ma’am. I can take it.
As a Yale parent who never knew Yale when the yards were open spaces, I’d argue they should definitely be included in the term “residential college.” Things shift dramatically when you walk through those gates–the inside and outside space within those walls feels the same to me. Therefore, I’m glad to see that the Christakis’s have taken any links to the videos off their twitter feed and that NC tweeted in defense of the student.
However, have to say that I acknowledge that F.I.R.E.'s decision to continue to publish those videos in consistent with that organization’s stance on free speech. I suspect that if pressed, they’d challenge the legality of Yale’s filming policies.
My heart goes out to the student who lost her temper. However, my heart also goes out to members of the SAE fraternity who also left school last week because of serious harassment from other students after the–so far unsubstantiated–allegations against the pledges at the door.
As far as the function of the Master’s of the college, it never occurred to me to view them in a parental role. My son went to boarding school, and he had an adviser who I did see in that role–but this is college, and I thought of Masters as similar to those in the British system–intellectual leaders of the college. The college itself feels like a peaceful retreat–not sure I’d go as far as to say a home, but I can understand how some might go there–but I don’t think that it follows that the Masters could possibly be the substitute parents of hundreds of students. My son’s boarding school adviser, in contrast, worked in the dorm and had about 10 students under his care.
All in all, I’m mostly heartened by the important and varied points of view so thoughtfully aired in this particular discussion thread (I suspect this is helped by moderation!). I also think the email from Holloway and Salovey last night to the Yale community was superb.
This is interesting:
No one is saying that we should stop trying, but part of being gracious and sensitive is to speak to the person directly first, rather than involve authority figures or try to punish the other person. Greeting your neighbor with a weapon is rarely a good thing if sensitivity and inclusiveness is the goal, and that’s what the protesters did. It’s rarely wrong to politely say to someone “may I speak with you for a minute” and then look them in the eye and speak to them, particularly if there is some commonality like college or employment. I really wonder if some of the protesters (not just at Yale, as a general matter) perceive campus protest as such a part of college life that they feel the need to find something to protest and do it in a way that meets their standards and signals their virtue. Protest for the sake of protest, rather than about any specific issue. If it hadn’t been this it would have been something.
Hyperbole! You have to admit sir and hard worker CAN be used in an offending way. I don’t believe anyone is suggesting we ban them. Are you exaggerating to dismiss valid points?
Also, as for the videotaping, I stand by what I tell my kids. Even if the person doing the unauthorized videotaping gets punished, images can’t be unseen and future employers, graduate schools, in-laws or even children will see them acting a fool and act accordingly. Just don’t act a fool in public.
Except in the privacy of your own home and even there we now have drones one cannot expect to be shielded from recording devices. In particular the younger generation is cognizant of this fact as the record button is defacto on their phones. The problem with this is anything you say or do can be recorded to broadcast to the world to be shunned and/or humiliated. We are recorded everywhere we go from traffic cameras to the keystrokes on our work computers. Privacy is a thing of the past. This comes with a price tag. We are judged in the court of public opinion and anything we say or do can be used against us that is caught on video tape. Mistakes when we were growing up were not indelible as they are today.
I saw that Consolation but only from that source so wasn’t sure it was accurate.
I think students are protesting over things that have been building up and feeling as if they do not have the ability to be heard if they look someone in the eye and try to talk to them. The precipitating incident may seem small, but may just be the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.
If conflicts, as it relates to gender, religion or racial identity, could easily be solved by approaching the offending party one-on-one, we wouldn’t need laws to protect us in the workplace. The fear of being ostracized or socially shamed should give would-be offenders pause. In an ideal world, a heart-to-heart with the boss who ordered me to stand up so he could look me up and down, would put the matter to rest. This was a grown man, ranked high in the company. I did what was asked. It is extremely difficult as an adult (nevermind as a college student) to confront the offender if the offender has all the power (or is perceived to have the approval/imprimatur of those in power).
I agree with the associate master’s message in one respect. She is right to say that it is about power. But she’s wrong about who has the power. Those born with the skin color of the majority have power. Those in authority at an institution like Yale have power. The kids drawing protest cartoons on the sidewalk – they have no power. The master and his wife took the side of those with power, and told those with no power to suck it up. … because free speech.
In my public magnet HS and in several previous workplaces, being considered a “hard worker” by the teacher/supervisor is considered a backhanded compliment as it indicates the teacher/supervisor perceives the one assessed in that manner as having a strong work ethic, but not very intelligent and lacking in independent initiative and imagination. If that’s the entire or the majority of a teacher’s/supervisor’s assessment, most HS classmates and colleagues in those work environments would feel quite miffed at the very least.
Which event is more upsetting to you? The email event at Yale or the event at University of Missouri?
CNN seems to report that there is a rumor that KKK might arrive at University of Missouri to “do something”. If it is indeed true, oh…boy. I thought the severe racial tension days before and during the civil right movement have long gone.
I think that the NE region is in general more “liberal” than where the University of Missouri is located at. Not sure whether this (being liberal) has something to do with the fact that there are a higher percentage of African Americans in New Haven than in the relatively rural Kansas City (is It where the latter university is located at?)
A friend of mine has a relatively extreme view on this: What he said is that the “rule” of how the society is run is by and large influenced by the people on the top with very little inputs from the people on the bottom.
When there is a conflict of interests between the people on the top (or those merely associated with the ethnic group perceived as “less disadvantaged”) and the people on the bottom, the former tend to suggest or even insist that both sides sit down and have a civil discussion and negotiation to resolve issues. People on the bottom have no faith in this kind of civil discussions; they think doing so will unlikely result in any progress due to their past and current experience. This is why the people on the bottom would appear to be rude or even violent – this is the only way they have any chance to “get something” due to the imbalance of power.
Personal conversation doesn’t have to be the only avenue, just the first. If the boss hears you and continues on the path, then of course take appropriate action. I’m not sure the law is supposed to be the first line of defense with regard to unintentional offense.
Is that the rumor that the student body president has taken to social media to apologize for inadvertently starting or is it something else?
I also thought the letters from Salovey and the dean were good–balanced, sensible, well-thought-out, and not likely to drive anybody berserk, on any side of the issue. I think it’s likely that Christakis did make apologetic remarks in subsequent meetings, and I think it’s telling that he says he thought he had credibility with the students–maybe he didn’t, and that could be, at least in part, his own fault.
I don’t think that’s the case here, though. Not only are offensive Halloween costumes common for years now, but an email discussing the problem is hardly the law acting as a first line of defense. It’s not like there were people out on Halloween looking for offensive costumes to report or get in trouble. It was simply a reminder.
That comment was not about this specific incident, but about the posed hypothetical of a boss and harassing behavior.
I do find the Yale students’ reaction to Christakis to be quite over the top, which indicates to me that something else had been brewing in his relationship with these students.
Typically, when one approaches people with kindness and respect in all dealings, unintentional offenses are treated personally and civilly. That’s certainly been my experience. So, perhaps his (and wife’s) dealings with these students has not been respectful or civil from the get-go.
I have no problem with the email message EC sent out – in a vacuum, I agree with the advice as being a good way to deal with minor or unintentional offenses. I do have a problem with people in his position not treating the students under his wing with respect. While this wouldnt excuse the young woman’s inappropriate handling of the matter from her end, IF this is what prompted her outburst, then perhaps there is blame all around.