The event’s title says it all: “Respecting the Speech We Hate.”
Two St. Cloud State experts will tackle one of academia’s thorniest issues 3 p.m. Sept. 14 in the Atwood Memorial Center theater.
Judith Siminoe holds a law degree from the University of Nebraska Lincoln and is a special adviser to Ashish Vaidya, interim president. She also holds a master’s degree in college student personnel and counseling.
Kathy Uradnik is a professor of political science and a lawyer with degrees from University of Chicago, University of Virginia and University of California-Berkeley. Among other classes, Uradnik teaches POL 491 Constitutional Law, POL 492 The Courts and Civil Rights and EDAD 622 Legal Aspects of Educational Administration.
School of Public Affairs is the event sponsor. King Banaian, dean of the school, will moderate. A question-and-answer session will follow.
Uradnik and Siminoe will discuss the state of law with respect to campus speech. They’ll also discuss how administrators and faculty members must be sensitive to the concerns of individuals and groups while upholding everyone’s free speech rights.
Tensions between free speech and student safety are evident in the rights and responsibilities section of the St. Cloud State’s Student Code of Conduct. The first two items are:
- Freedom of inquiry, speech, and assembly
- Freedom from threats
Insuring that students feel welcome has prompted some colleges to protect students from certain types of speech. These protections include trigger warnings, safe spaces and bans.
Trigger warnings are advance notice of subject material that might upset students. Safe spaces are places where students can avoid speech that upsets them. Bans include not allowing speakers to present.
Push-back against these trends is exemplified by the University of Chicago’s Class of 2020 acceptance letter, which reads in part:
“Our commitment to academic freedom means that we do not support so called ‘trigger warnings,’ we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual ‘safe spaces’ where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own.”
Minnesota State’s November 2015 statement on racism called on its campuses to engage with, not retreat from, ideas:
“When it comes to racism and intolerance, the way forward begins with a willingness to engage with each other with empathy and concern in what are sometimes difficult conversations. But, talking is not enough. We must listen – truly listen – to each other in a sincere effort to better understand our different perspectives and experiences.”
Earlier this year, the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles released the latest iteration of its 50-year-old survey of incoming college students. Among the findings: The Class of 2019 is most willing to shut down speech they find offensive.
In 2015, the Pew Research Center reported that 40 percent of millennials (ages 18-34) are okay with limiting speech that is offensive to minorities. View the survey results.
