Hate Speech on Campus: What Public Universities Can and Should Do to Counter Weaponized Intolerance.

Democratic societies tolerate intolerance, but that obligation finds its limit when the security of its citizens is jeopardized or its institutions of liberty are imperiled. Similarly, universities tolerate intolerance, but that obligation finds its limit when threatened by weaponized intolerance ad...

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Published in:Res Publica (13564765) Vol. 26; no. 1; pp. 45 - 67
Main Author: Welshon, Rex
Format: Article
Published: Springer Nature Feb2020
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        atl: Hate Speech on Campus: What Public Universities Can and Should Do to Counter Weaponized Intolerance.
      aug:
        au: Welshon, Rex
        affil: Department of Philosophy, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, USA
      su:
        Hate speech
        Academic freedom
        Freedom of speech
        United States. Constitution. 1st Amendment
        Toleration
        United States
      sug:
        subj:
          United States
          Hate speech
          Academic freedom
          Freedom of speech
          United States. Constitution. 1st Amendment
          Toleration
      keyword:
        First Amendment
        Intolerance
        Safe space
        Weaponized intolerance
      ab: Democratic societies tolerate intolerance, but that obligation finds its limit when the security of its citizens is jeopardized or its institutions of liberty are imperiled. Similarly, universities tolerate intolerance, but that obligation finds its limit when threatened by weaponized intolerance advocates who disenfranchise and denigrate community members and imperil academic norms and professional standards of conduct. Then, just as democratic societies must protect their threatened citizens and safeguard their imperiled institutions of liberty, so universities must protect their threatened community members and safeguard their imperiled norms and standards. I argue for these conclusions by establishing a conflict between what the First Amendment legally permits university community members to express and what the norms of the university and the professional standards that structure academic freedom require from university community members. I argue that given the First Amendment, universities are legally obliged to tolerate even weaponized intolerance in campus public forums even if not in the classroom. I then recommend three responses to weaponized intolerance on campus that are consistent with the First Amendment: denunciation and protest, provision of safe space, and affirmation of academic values, norms, and standards. I reject three frequently encountered responses to weaponized intolerance as inconsistent with the First Amendment: heckler's vetoes, student speech codes, and speaker bans. And I argue that one response—disruptive protest that falls short of a heckler's veto—is legally permissible for students and faculty members but is ruled out for faculty members by academic norms and professional standards.
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    language: English
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