Testing the boundaries of Amendment #1

[elSicomoro]

Russotto, UT, and anyone that reads the phl.transportation or phl.media news groups, may be familiar with this already.

First, read this story from The Daily Pennsylvanian (the newspaper of the University of Pennsylvania). This in turn led to it being covered in Philadelphia's City Paper.

These links may not last long, so the bottom line: A UPenn student (who is infamous on the above newsgroups) posted an inflammatory statement against Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims on a UPenn newsgroup. Naturally, it has upset quite a few people. But her words are covered under the first amendment.

The glitch in all this? She's a teaching assistant in the linguistics department at UPenn. Some folks have said that she should be held to a higher standard because of this. Others have expressed the importance of respecting free speech.

In addition, UPenn has already dealt with another famous free-speech case--the "Water Buffalo" incident in 1993, in which a white student called some black students "water buffalo." The student who made the remark won his case.

Read the articles...what say you?

My $ .02: First, the infamous remarks in this case were posted on the UPenn news server. I have not seen an actual copy of the post, and unless one of you folks out there can access upenn.talk, we may not get a chance to see the full post. Maybe I'll e-mail her and ask her for a copy of it. Therefore, we don't know for certain just what exactly was said.

I am familiar with Stephanie Winters...and I believe her to be more of a shit-disturber than anything. I've argued with her a couple of times over Native Americans and European colonization. I think she does what she does to push buttons.

This post also came from the same person that thinks a)An area without a mall sucks and b)That people should practically be forced to call S. Delaware Ave. in Philadelphia by its newer name--Christopher Columbus Blvd.

Just FROM WHAT I'VE SEEN of her post, it doesn't surprise me, and it's outright ridiculous. But Alan Kors, a professor at Penn that defended the offending student in the "water buffalo" incident, made a good point--"To say what you think of her is far more effective than making a free speech martyr of her. You’re allowed to say hateful things. And the appropriate response is more free speech."

So far, Ms. Winters has not made an official comment to either paper. She listed some of the good things she has done mixed with cute insults on phl.transportation.

It takes all kinds to make a world, right?

[SteveDallas]

Heh... I remember the Water Buffalo incident. I was in grad school at Penn at the time. IIRC he did not call them water buffaloes, he said "you sound like a bunch of water buffaloes." A subtle distinction to be sure, still.... My sympathies were entirely with the guy. Unlike 98+% of our population, I don't believe being a college student gives one license to disturb one's neighbors by being loud and obnoxious near where they live. So, free speech implications aside, I applauded the guy for telling the people participating in the stupid sorority initiation stunt to take a hike so he could study.

My computer's screwy and not opening the links and I'm too lazy to try to fix it now.. but from what you've posted.... the crux of the matter is her ambiguous status as a student and as an employee of Penn. Employers have every right to expect that their employees will refrain from saying things that will cause trouble for the employer. As a student, they should suck it up and ignore it. As a TA, well, maybe they should still ignore it. If it's done on her own time, and it's not reflective of her work (she did not, for example, post that the linguistics department is chock full of ignorant morons who couldn't tell a gerund from a participle) should they call her to task? I'd say the university shouldn't do anything, but her advisor if s/he is smart will warn her that she needs to consider the effect things like this will have if she plans on a career as a college professor (which I assume is the point of her being a TA). Or it's possible her advisor doesn't like her and will hang her out to dry. When you're a grad student a lot depends on your faculty.

[jaguar]

I may not agree with what you say, but I shall defend to the death your right to say it.
- Voltair

while i'm quoting voltair,

True greatness consists in the use of a powerful understanding to enlighten oneself and others.
- Voltair

and while i'm on contemporary philosophy

Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.
- Sartre