[616] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
Re: Dartmouth situation
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Bryan C Yong)
Sat May 12 15:51:15 2001
Date: Sat, 12 May 2001 15:51:00 -0400 (EDT)
From: Bryan C Yong <yonger@MIT.EDU>
To: Michael E Rolish <merolish@MIT.EDU>
cc: <revprez@MIT.EDU>, <mit-talk@MIT.EDU>
In-Reply-To: <200105121919.PAA12217@department-of-alchemy.mit.edu>
Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.4.30L.0105121534430.17483-100000@mint-square.mit.edu>
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Well, if we are going to begin discussing this, and I guess the ball has
been set rolling, we should probably link to a better article than the 100
line CNN blurb.
If you want the source where the story broke, go to
http://www.thedartmouth.com/
I've been following the story pretty closely, since its pretty fair to say
that I've a vested interest in the matter...you could also say I have a
biased view in the matter, but hey, you can pretty much say anything you
want, with what the whole First Amendment and all...
On Sat, 12 May 2001, Michael E Rolish wrote:
> Prez,
>
> I don't think this is about the First Amendment. Dartmouth,
> after all, is a private institution.
>
> 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.
> These kids put out a publication, under the auspices of their
> fraternity, that potentially ruined people's reputations and
> implicitly advocated a serious crime.
I completely agree. Every university needs to decide what it will or will
not condone in terms of behavior, and apply those rules to all equally.
However, I think it begins a dangerous precedent when you begin to judge
people on what they've done in the privacy of their fraternity house/dorm
room. Where do you draw the line? At what point does the university no
longer have the authority to pass judgement on what you do?
I'm not saying that what the Zetes at Darthmouth did, but I have problems
with them being attacked for something literally pulled from their garbage
and reconstructed. Does that mean that Darthmouth reserves the right to
sift through the garbage of their students?
> In short, "You have the right to free speech, but not in my
> house!"
>
In short, this is what I don't agree with. Sure, Zeta Psi is a part of
Darthmouth, and in the end they have every right to do whatever they
please...but do Darthmouth students have a right to free speech within
their own house? This decision would seem to indicate that they do not.
Bryan
