[643] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
Re: University Rights: Point of Information
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (SMITH)
Sat May 12 21:24:58 2001
Message-Id: <200105130124.VAA06664@m12-182-24.mit.edu>
To: "Christopher D. Beland" <beland@MIT.EDU>
cc: Presley H Cannady <revprez@MIT.EDU>, mit-talk@MIT.EDU
In-Reply-To: Your message of "Sat, 12 May 2001 19:54:54 EDT."
<200105122354.TAA08411@Press-Your-Luck.mit.edu>
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Date: Sat, 12 May 2001 21:24:29 -0400
From: SMITH <cdsmith@MIT.EDU>
>Dartmouth has no pretense of tolerating certain classes of speech
>which it deems harassing. Neither does MIT.
This is true, yet at the same time ignores the issue at hand. Yes,
Dartmouth can legitmately have policies which clip free speech once
it becomes harassment. The issue is this: Did Zeta Psi-Dartmouth (ZPD)
harass a group of young women simply by publishing - internally and with
the women absent - a document which those women later found offensive?
From the link Mr. Shulman so graciously forwarded us:
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Standard II: Students and student organizations must not engage
in behavior that threatens the safety, security or functioning of the
College, the safety and security of its members, or the safety and
security of others.
Examples of such behavior include, but are not limited to:
[..snip..]
Coercion, harassment (including abusive conduct directed at an
individual and repeated) or hazing. Harassment is defined as
abusive behavior or conduct that is targeted at an individual or
group and is ordinarily repeated.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Did ZPD engage in abusive behavior by publishing - internally and with
the named women absent - a document which conjectures about the date
rape of Dartmouth women students? Using Dartmouth's own standards, I don't
really think so. Looking at copies of the documents, it's clear to
me that they were done in jest; if anything the intent was to "harass"
one of its own members about his past behavior. This doesn't excuse the
bad judgement of ZPD members in printing the document, but given that they
did not make an effort to tell anyone outside ZPD about the document,
I don't think they really went beyond being simply offensive and rude, which
even Dartmouth acknowledges is allowable.
-chris
that by any reasonable stand
