Free speech in a university setting

Photo Credit: Wix

A professor at John Hopkins was recently banned and suspended from campus due to anti protesting students who were protesting the presence of an armed police force on campus. The fifth point in the school’s Foundational Principles for Teaching and Education emphasizes a positive learning environment that is “diverse, respectful, inclusive and collegial.” He was accused of breaking into a student sit-in with bolt cutters and of attacking students. The professor claimed his counter protest was nonviolent. The university banned and suspended the professor on the premise that even though they didn’t know exactly what happened, he was putting the students in danger. Even if that accusations of the professor attacking students is untrue, it is known that he had bolt cutters on hand when he broke into the student sit-in.

In the example above, the institution’s principles were enforced because the professor crossed the line from violating the university’s principles and values to putting students in harm's way. Principles of community or a university’s values, like Virginia Tech’s, tend to include information about diversity and inclusion. The University of Virginia and James Madison University also include diversity and inclusion into their values and mission statements.

In 2017, a graduate student at Virginia Tech was removed from his instructor position due to white supremacist statements that were posted online. He never became violent. He violated the Virginia Tech Principles of Community, but those principles can’t be strictly enforced. They’re not policy. The second point in the Principles of Community emphasizes the right people have to express their opinions freely, but does indicate that it is encouraged people do so in a civil, sensitive and respectful manner. Students protested repeatedly after hearing about the graduate student and demanded

Everyone has a right to their opinions as long as they don’t result in violence or infringe on other people’s rights. These instances serve as a reminder that even if the opinion is commonly viewed as morally wrong, the person is still entitled to that opinion. With this in mind, are universities accepting one piece of diversity over others? And how is free speech coming into play in university settings in this politically charged time?