[4162] in Depressing_Thoughts
Re: it's 4 PM.
wesommer@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (wesommer@ATHENA.MIT.EDU)
Wed Nov 3 16:43:51 1993
For mostly historical reasons, the MIT administration has a role
similar to that of a government in student life. As such, it should
act like a well-behaved government; while the first amendment does not
apply directly, MIT should, in no circumstances, act to suppress
speech in ways which would be unconstitutional if MIT were a town or
city.
To simply say that MIT is not subject to the first amendment and thus
can suppress any speech it feels like is rather short-sighted, because
this also implies that MIT has the right to suppress speech critical
of MIT.
(I'm using "speech" here as a catch-all for all forms of expression
protected by the first amendment).
