[614] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
Re: Dartmouth situation
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Prez H. Cannady)
Sat May 12 15:47:16 2001
Message-Id: <200105121946.PAA03731@melbourne-city-street.mit.edu>
Date: Sat, 12 May 2001 15:46:38 -0400
To: Michael E Rolish <merolish@MIT.EDU>
From: "Prez H. Cannady" <revprez@MIT.EDU>
Cc: mit-talk@MIT.EDU
In-Reply-To: <200105121919.PAA12217@department-of-alchemy.mit.edu>
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At 03:19 PM 5/12/01 , Michael E Rolish wrote
>Prez,
>
>I don't think this is about the First Amendment. Dartmouth,
>after all, is a private institution.
Even more of a reason. Dartmouth and private universities,
in my opinion, have an obligation to instill civic virtue
in their students. That is a moral rather than a legal
issue. Should private institutions start to adopt a
particular ideology, then they cease being centers of
education and instead fortresses for issue advocacy and
intolerance. This is the tyranny of liberalism, that
a particular view of the world -- one I disagree with
on many fronts -- can be imposed on those who compensate
the university for their services.
>I agree that most universities have been infected with moral
>subjectivism (just look at the protests at Harvard, NEU,
>UConn, etc.), but it is well within the college's rights
>to determine what is and isn't proper conduct and act
>accordingly.
Yes, and nobody would argue that. Let's not forget the
main point here -- where moral relativism reigns you still
have an underlying ethic defined by people who have
no natural right to impose morality -- especially considering
their own lack of character.
>These kids put out a publication, under the auspices of their
>fraternity, that potentially ruined people's reputations and
>implicitly advocated a serious crime.
So. I've put out publications in which I engage in
violent, despicable criminal activity, encourage
misogyny and advocate permissive lifestyles. The
difference is that whereas Zeta Psi produced a
written document aimed at their classmates, my joint
comes on a compact disc and is aimed at young adults
anywhere in the world.
However, my artform has gained marketplace acceptance
and universities do little to curb music with content
similar to what was published in the newsletter.
>If I were the president of a university where this kind of
>thing happened, such jerks would be outta there in a second.
I wouldn't. Had they followed through with any of
their nonsense, then hell yeah -- I'd expect to
catch hell if I got caught date raping. However,
what constitutes appropiate discussion of date
rape? Is it within the moral realm of a university
which claims openness in the free discussion of
ideas to employ regulation against speech the
administrator's find morally reprehensible. This
isn't Bob Jones or Brigham Young, where the moral
foundation of those campuses is clearly defined
and conduct regulation flows consistently from
an ethical premise, but from a liberal, Ivy-league
school that promotes diversity within its student
body. Personally, I find the Green Party an offensive
cancer on campus, but does the administration boot
them out? No.
>(Same thing for leftists who decide it is their "right" to
>disrupt lectures, occupy buildings, etc.)
There's a difference between engaging in passive, legal
expression of thought and illegal activity. Those protesters
who engage in civil disobedience either expect to be
tried by the laws they consider unjust or throw themselves
at the mercy of an audience they EXPECT to sympathize with
them. This is not te case for someone who makes music or
publishes reading material.
>In short, "You have the right to free speech, but not in my
>house!"
This is true, and I've never argued against it. However,
it is distasteful and dishonest that any institution that
claims to tolerate different perspectives would actually
tolerate only their bankrupt liberal ideology. It's
the reason why communism is the last breed of totalitarianism
that still receives legitimacy on our campuses today,
where as European facism has become a "crime" to advocate
on campus.
Rev Prez
* * *
Presley H. Cannady, Class of 2002, Electrical Engineering
Acting Chairman, College Republicans
CR Website <http://web.mit.edu/republicans/www/>
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