Oh, the irony!

Headline from today's News Journal: Philly Campus Kick-Off fits into college tradition of free expression.

College tradition ... of free expression?? Philly??

Via the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE): "Free Speech Lawsuits Filed Against Penn State and Temple." Temple is rated as a "red" university by FIRE for its restrictive "speech codes."

The case against Temple (PDF) is more complicated and not only challenges Temple’s speech code (here’s a sample: it defines “Gender Harassment” as “[g]eneralized sexist remarks and behavior…that convey insulting, degrading or sexist attitudes about women and men”) but involves discrimination and retaliation against a student in the military who appears to have been punished for disagreeing with a professor’s antiwar views.

The University of Pennsylvania, another Philly higher ed. bastion, currently has a "green" speech code rating from FIRE, but it certainly isn't without its history of restrictive political correctness when it comes to speech. Anyone remember the infamous "water buffalo" flap?

Other nearby colleges:

• Bryn Mawr College: Speech code rating of "red."
• Cheney University: Speech code rating of "red."
• West Chester University: Speech code rating of "red."
• Drexel University: Speech code rating of "red."
• Lehigh University: Speech code rating of "red."
• Haverford College: Speech code rating of "red."

Hilariously, since one of the more "popular" aspects of speech codes is "anti-gender bias" speech, these colleges are just gonna love rapper Fat Joe.

Posted by Hube at September 28, 2006 06:13 PM | TrackBack