ItÂ’s a good thing Jonathan Swift isnÂ’t a student at Tufts University.

A judicial panel at Tufts University on Thursday ruled that a conservative campus journal "harassed" blacks by publishing a Christmas carol parody called "O Come All Ye Black Folk" that many found racist.

The decision by the Committee on Student Life, a board of professors and students that hears complaints against campus groups, ruled that The Primary Source was guilty of harassment and creating a hostile environment in violation of the school's nondiscrimination policy.

The body ruled that an editor now must sign all of the magazine's work. The panel also recommended that Tufts' student government "consider the behavior" of the magazine when allocating money -- a statement that Primary Source editors say could lead to de-recognition.

Hundreds of students, including the president of the student body, have signed a petition against the magazine, said Douglas Kingman, an editor.

At Tufts, criticism of affirmative action is now deemed to be racial harassment and the creation of a hostile environment. Apparently the only diversity that will be tolerated there is diversity of skin-tone and sexual orientation – diversity of thought and opinion will be ruthlessly rooted out and punished.

But I am curious about this statement from one of the deans.

Bruce Reitman, the school's dean of students, said the school is opposed to censoring The Primary Source. Still, he said he was pleased that the committee found a way to reprimand the magazine for writings he said left many students feeling "unwelcome" and "wounded."

"I'm proud of the committee," he said. "I was pleased to see them balance both values of freedom of speech and freedom from harassment, without letting one dominate the other."

Doesn’t this decision leave students who dissent from the politically correct orthodoxy of liberalism feeling “wounded” and “unwelcome”? Or is that irrelevant, given that those are only rights for those who the school views as worthy of inclusion? After all, the panel has essentially recommended the defunding and derecognition of the campus publication in question.

UPDATE: Captain Ed reproduces the text of the ad about Islam. I don't know about you, but I certainly find it frightening that quoting the less flattering verses of the Quran or talking abut documented historical facts about Islam is now considered harassment of Muslims.

Islam Arabic Translation: Submission In the Spirit of Islamic Awareness Week, the SOURCE presents an itinerary to supplement the educational experience.

MONDAY: “I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them.” – The Koran, Sura 8:12 Author Salman Rushdie needed to go into hiding after Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeni declared a fatwa calling for his death for writing The Satanic Verses, which was declared “blasphemous against Islam.”

TUESDAY: Slavery was an integral part of Islamic culture. Since the 7th century, 14 million African slaves were sold to Muslims compared to 10 or 11 million sold to the entire Western Hemisphere. As recently as 1878, 25,000 slaves were sold annually in Mecca and Medina. (National Review 2002) The seven nations in the world that punish homosexuality with death all have fundamentalist Muslim governments.

WEDNESDAY: In Saudi Arabia, women make up 5% of the workforce, the smallest percentage of any nation worldwide. They are not allowed to operate a motor vehicle or go outside without proper covering of their body. (Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2001) Most historians agree that MuhammedÂ’s second wife Aisha was 9 years old when their marriage was consummated.

THURSDAY: “Not equal are those believers who sit and receive no hurt, and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah with their goods and their persons. Allah hath granted a grade higher to those who strive and fight with their goods and persons than to those who sit. Unto all Hath Allah promised good: But those who strive and fight Hath He distinguished above those who sit by a special reward.” – The Koran, Sura 4:95 The Islamist guerrillas in Iraq are not only killing American soldiers fighting for freedom. They are also responsible for the vast majority of civilian casualties.

FRIDAY: Ibn Al-Ghazzali, the famous Islamic theologian, said, “The most satisfying and final word on the matter is that marriage is form of slavery. The woman is man’s slave and her duty therefore is absolute obedience to the husband in all that he asks of her person.” Mohamed Hadfi, 31, tore out his 23-year-old wife Samira Bari’s eyes in their apartment in the southern French city of Nimes in July 2003 following a heated argument about her refusal to have sex with him. (Herald Sun)

If you are a peaceful Muslim who can explain or justify this astonishingly intolerant and inhuman behavior, weÂ’d really like to hear from you! Please send all letters to tuftsprimarysource@gmail.com.

I've also tracked down the other "offensive" satire, which is held to harass African-Americans.

O Come All Ye Black Folk
Boisterous, yet desirable
O come ye, O come ye to our university
Come and we will admit you,
Born in to oppression;
O come, let us accept them,
O come, let us accept them,
O come, let us accept them,
Fifty-Two black freshmen.

O sing, gospel choirs,
We will accept your children,
No matter what your grades are FÂ’s DÂ’s or GÂ’s
Give them privileged status; We will welcome all.
O come, let us accept them,
O come, let us accept them,
O come, let us accept them,
Fifty-Two black freshmen.

All come! Blacks, we need you,
Born into the ghetto.
O Jesus! We need you now to fill our racial quotas.
Decendents of Africa, with brown skin arriving:
O come, let us accept them,
O come, let us accept them,
O come, let us accept them,
Fifty-two black freshmen.

Frankly, I think it does a lousy job of satirizing affirmative action -- but it neither qualifies as harassment nor merits the sort of response the university has had to it.

UPDATE II: Interesting analysis from Volokh.

Lovely: Harsh criticism of Islam doesn't -- in the Committee's view -- "promot[e] political or social discourse." Rather, it is an "unreasonable attack[]" (and it's up to the Committee to decide which attacks on religions are reasonable and which aren't).

What's more, this "unreasonable" speech violates the "rights of other members of the community." What are those rights? Apparently the right "to exist on campus without being subjected to unreasonable attacks based on their race or religion" (including attacks on the religion generally, even those that don't give any student names in particular). And apparently the right to be free of "attitudes or opinions that are expressed verbally or in writing" that "create[] a hostile environment" for students "on the basis of race, religion, gender identity/expression, ethnic or national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, or genetics."

In this case, the punishment for the speech is a ban on one newspaper's ability to publish anonymous speech -- while other newspapers that express favored views remain free to shield their contributors from social ostracism and other retaliation through anonymity. It requests "that student governance consider the behavior of student groups," which is to say the viewpoints those groups express, "in future decisions concerning recognition and funding."

But more importantly, the ruling finds that the speech violated general campus rules that make such speech "unacceptable at Tufts" and require "prompt and decisive action." Though it looks like no individual students are being disciplined in this instance, if the Tufts Administration accepts the ruling, it will send a clear message that students who express "attitudes or opinions" like this will be seen as violating campus anti-harassment rules, and will be subjected to "prompt and decisive action," which campus rules say may involve "the disciplinary process," against individual students as well as against organizations. After this decision, what should Tufts students feel free to say in criticizing religions, or in criticizing affirmative action?

H/T Wizbang

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