WASHINGTON, May 10, 2013—In a shocking affront to the United States Constitution, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education have joined together to mandate that virtually every college and university in the United States establish unconstitutional speech codes that violate the First Amendment and decades of legal precedent. […]
In a letter sent yesterday to the University of Montana that explicitly states that it is intended as “a blueprint for colleges and universities throughout the country,” the Departments of Justice and Education have mandated a breathtakingly broad definition of sexual harassment that makes virtually every student in the United States a harasser while ignoring the First Amendment. The mandate applies to every college receiving federal funding—virtually every American institution of higher education nationwide, public or private.
The letter states that “sexual harassment should be more broadly defined as ‘any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature‘” including “verbal conduct” (that is, speech). It then explicitly states that allegedly harassing expression need not even be offensive to an “objectively reasonable person of the same gender in the same situation”—if the listener takes offense to sexually related speech for any reason, no matter how irrationally or unreasonably, the speaker may be punished.
Will any of the Left-wing Seminaries (aka as universities) object? Or will they look upon this as just another cudgel to be wielded against any heretic or apostate?
Of course, if there are still a few students left on campuses who want to go a bit Alinsky, they could take aim by taking offense at any Left-winger political stance that has even a hint of sexual content. Demand that any performance The Vagina Monologues be banned. File complaints against any pro-same-sex marriage demonstration. Audit Women’s Studies classes and file complaints against any professor or classroom discussion that deals with gender issues.
The whole point is to show exactly what a standard based solely on “the listener took offense” stance will entail.
One what authority do they make this request/demand?
If they can unilaterally establish speech codes at universities is there anywhere they can’t do this (e.g., will they dictate sexual harassment policy for private businesses next?)?
Un-fargin’-believable!
Oh please. To ask is to answer.
as you very well know
Ugh – Isn’t this along the same lines as their attempt to set an across-the-board blood alcohol level of .05% for DUI?
The more pertinent question is, how does this policy effect the great Orwell vs. Huxley debate*?
*And note the irony in this
That right there is the root of the problem, seems to me.
Just another example of those wild ‘n crayzee bureaucrats not being properly supervised. Because the government is so vast it’s impossible for the left hand to know what the far left hand is doing, don’t you know?
I could use some html supervision myself.
@DarthLevin we can print more money for their shortage
@LBascom agreed, taxpayer funding is the issue.
Taxpayer funding, it seems to me, is just the vector for transmitting the virus of political correctness.
Darth’s avatar is pointing a gun. Its phallical phallicism is harrassing me sexually.
I demand compensation from the federal government.
If you want phallical phallicism, SW, I’ll have to get an avi of something with a longer barrel.
OK, it’s not really big, so I’ll take $20.
If that’s what I think it is, it’s phallical enough, what with the large load it carries.
Political correctness is the vector. Seems to me. ;-P
Well, if sexual harassment now consists of ‘any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature,‘ the Obama Maladministration is gonna need to pay up because they’ve been unwelcomely screwing me and the country I love for the last four years and change.
That’s pretty Judge-mental of you.
colleges that require you to live on campus for like your first two years need to
not do that anymore