Remember that pro-life display that was demolished in Washington state? Well, students at Western Washington University want to make sure nothing like that ever happens again on their campus.

No, they are not out to strengthen the campus policy on freedom of speech or the responsibility of all students to respect the rights of others to express thoughts and ideas they reject.

No, they want to ban pro-life speech as a form of “hate speech” on campus, making those who oppose abortion subject to penalties imposed by the campus kangaroo court judicial system.

In response to the anti-abortion display Tuesday and Wednesday in Red Square, Western senior Cara Pierson started a petition to ban hate speech from campus.

She said the photos of aborted fetuses, lynchings and Holocaust victims bullied and offended women who had abortions or considered having abortions.
Pierson said she felt the displayÂ’s message constituted hate speech.

“Hate speech is a verbal, written or visual harassment of a particular group intended to degrade or dehumanize members of that group,” Pierson said.

She started the petition Wednesday and spent five hours in Red Square collecting approximately 300 signatures from students, professors and staff members.

Pierson said she researched other colleges that have policies protecting campuses from hate speech before bringing her petition to Red Square.

In other words, one side of the debate on a major social and political issue in our society would be suppressed at Western Washington University, while the opposing side will be subsidized as part of the academic program (Women’s Studies). It seems appropriate, therefore, that the assault on free speech was conducted in the middle of “Red Square” – after all, the policy demanded by Pierson and her supporters is nothing short of Stalinism.

Fortunately, the school is not interested in imposing such viewpoint censorship

.Dean of Students Ted Pratt said WesternÂ’s policy must respect citizensÂ’ right to free speech the First Amendment protects.

“We have our policies here that talk about freedom of expression and those are in line with the First Amendment,” Pratt said.

WesternÂ’s policy is that it deals with protests or displays on campus on a case-by-case basis, Pratt said. No policy specifically addresses hate speech, he said.

The administration reviewed the anti-abortion display before allowing it on campus, he said.

It determined the display didnÂ’t advocate violence or hate against any groups, such as women who have had abortions and saw no reason to stop Western For Life from bringing the display to campus, Pratt said.

Seems to me that the school has an appropriate policy in place. Perhaps Cara Pierson needs to be re-enrolled in American Government so she can learn about the rights guaranteed under the Constitution.

(H/T The Torch

Posted by: Greg at 01:11 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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