Courtesy of FIRE: In the latest of several examples of intolerance by DePaul University’s administration to non-left-wing ideas, the powers-that-be shut down an “affirmative action bake sale” and are now “investigating” the organizer for “discriminatory harassment.”
DePaul, of course, is a private Catholic university, and has the general right to suppress speech, even for extremely stupid reasons. However, DePaul also has contractual obligations, and those obligations include following its own “discriminatory harassment” policy, which claimes that “DePaul University values the free and open exchange of ideas within a university community.” And that “DePaul University is committed to the principles of academic freedom and inquiry.” The caveat is that DePaul states that “discrimination and harassment” are not protected. So I ask, rhetorically, whom did the students involved in the bake sale “harass”; against whom did they “discriminate”? (yes, technically the white male students who had to pay more for cookies, but I’d like to see the DePaul Adminsitration make that the basis of their case with a straight face). Apparently, at DePaul expressing ideas contrary to the administration’s views on affirmative action constitutes at least a prima facie case of “harassment,” which I think a reasonable person would say is absolutely ridiculous.
FIRE is, of course, on the case, but I’m wondering if its strategy needs to be less reactive and more proactive when it comes to consistent offenders like DePaul. What if some DePaul students got together and sued the university for misreprentation, fraud, or whatever relevant causes of action state and city laws permit? I’m not generally inclined to use litigation for “political” purposes, but if I were a student at DePaul, and felt constrained to express my own views for fear of being the administration’s next victim, I’d certainly be inclined to consider my legal options for making DePaul either fullfil its commitment to academic freedom, or acknowledge forthrightly in its policies that “at DePaul every student’s and professor’s right express his views is subject to the ideological whims of the university administration.”
And click this link for some previous thoughts of mine on “affirmative action bakesales” and freedom of speech.
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