Speech Codes On College Campuses
In the United States of America and in almost all countries, there are laws against harassment, libel, threats, and incitement to commit crimes. These speech codes are for the safety of citizens and are often used to suppress hate speech in private institutions and in the workplace. Speech codes should be allowed on college campuses in order to create a safe environment for people of different sexes, races, sexual orientation, religions, and classes, and to provide an equal learning environment for all by limiting the freedom of speech. Speech codes limit freedom of speech to prevent serious harm to students on college campuses. The First Amendment states that, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting
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In an article in the New York Times, Racism on Campus: Stories from New York Times Readers, Maya Bird-Murphy told her story. Bird-Murphy was one of two black students in a class of more than 20 people at Ball State University. The class was studying William Grant Still, one of the first black composers, when the Caucasian professor asked Bird-Murphy to read one of his poems written in the ‘20s. Bird-Murphy read the poem aloud in her usual voice and the professor said, “No. Do it again. You know how it’s supposed to sound. I can’t read it because that’s not my …show more content…
Alan Charles Kors, a professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania and coauthor of The Shadow University: The Betrayal of Liberty on America's Campuses, argued that:
Speech codes, with all of their formal clauses, are in fact a parody of the rule of law, but we should not obsess about them. Freedom dies in the heart and will before it dies in the law. Speech codes merely formalize the will to censor and to devalue liberty of thought and speech. Even without invoking codes, universities have found ways to silence or to chill freedom of opinion and expression (Kors).
Jon Katz, an American journalist and author, also argued: “Institutions that are supposed to be breeding grounds for original and innovative thought have embraced the forced re-ordering of moral conscience” (Katz). However, speech codes do not stifle freedom of speech. It merely adds to the exclusions of the first amendment in order to create a safe learning environment and equal opportunities for all. Speech codes, in no way, limit learning, in fact, they enhance learning
In an article in the New York Times, Racism on Campus: Stories from New York Times Readers, Maya Bird-Murphy told her story. Bird-Murphy was one of two black students in a class of more than 20 people at Ball State University. The class was studying William Grant Still, one of the first black composers, when the Caucasian professor asked Bird-Murphy to read one of his poems written in the ‘20s. Bird-Murphy read the poem aloud in her usual voice and the professor said, “No. Do it again. You know how it’s supposed to sound. I can’t read it because that’s not my …show more content…
Alan Charles Kors, a professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania and coauthor of The Shadow University: The Betrayal of Liberty on America's Campuses, argued that:
Speech codes, with all of their formal clauses, are in fact a parody of the rule of law, but we should not obsess about them. Freedom dies in the heart and will before it dies in the law. Speech codes merely formalize the will to censor and to devalue liberty of thought and speech. Even without invoking codes, universities have found ways to silence or to chill freedom of opinion and expression (Kors).
Jon Katz, an American journalist and author, also argued: “Institutions that are supposed to be breeding grounds for original and innovative thought have embraced the forced re-ordering of moral conscience” (Katz). However, speech codes do not stifle freedom of speech. It merely adds to the exclusions of the first amendment in order to create a safe learning environment and equal opportunities for all. Speech codes, in no way, limit learning, in fact, they enhance learning