College President Argues Against Free Speech on Campus
Breitbart Tech,
by
Alana Mastrangelo
Original Article
Posted By: M2,
4/8/2019 12:55:00 PM
Union College President David R. Harris recently penned an argument against free speech on college campuses, claiming that institutions of higher learning have a responsibility to manage speech by providing “constructive engagement,” so that students can have an optimal learning experience. Union College president David R. Harris penned an op-ed, entitled, “A Campus Is Not the Place for Free Speech,” in which he argues that it is the role of colleges and universities to filter the conversations on campuses to provide “constructive engagement.” “I oppose free speech on college campuses,” states Harris in his op-ed, “I think college campuses should be safe
Reply 1 - Posted by:
aasilver 4/8/2019 12:59:05 PM (No. 27247)
He should be fired immediately.
44 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
VinGoombatz 4/8/2019 1:02:22 PM (No. 27231)
David R. Harris is a man who needs to be smacked in the face, cracking teeth and drawing blood.
Indulge me... that´s the first line in my new novel.
21 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
MainelySane 4/8/2019 1:07:33 PM (No. 27230)
Incredible... My brother went to Union when it was a men´s college. It´s hard to believe that free speech and discussion is stifled anywhere in academia. If students are harmed by "talking", they shouldn´t be in college/university.
27 people like this.
David... Go fetch me my slippers!
11 people like this.
Aaaaaand, yet another “institution of higher learning” goes on my “I will not lift a finger or spend a single penny if my progeny want to go there” list.
19 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
lakerman1 4/8/2019 1:13:29 PM (No. 27234)
His statement is as Orwellian as anything I could imagine.
26 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
trackman999 4/8/2019 1:14:59 PM (No. 27233)
I really don´t understand this. Everyone has to agree with everyone about everything? That´s not humanly possible.
16 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
twocentsworth 4/8/2019 1:15:37 PM (No. 27250)
Freedom is messy and uncontrollable.... we can´t have that!
15 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Luandir 4/8/2019 1:17:57 PM (No. 27249)
Let´s see how his donors react.
13 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
sparky joe 4/8/2019 1:19:35 PM (No. 27246)
Cut this guy some slack
He’s not against All Speech
He’s against only Speech that differs from
what ‘’He has learned and believes’’
And keep in mind,
He’s doing it for’’the Students’ own good’’
I think he might have a pretty good shot
in the Democrat Primary
18 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Catfur27 4/8/2019 1:19:44 PM (No. 27248)
..this is a classic example of how INSANE the left is now...This moron is actually speaking out against free speech!!??.....Why??...because Trump is FOR it.
... Trump should announce a new federal program to find a cure for cancer ...then watch the idiot dems scream that cancer is good..
19 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
dbdiva 4/8/2019 1:20:33 PM (No. 27259)
Please remind David that the people who "yell a view and leave" are those on the left wbo have neither the facts or the courage to stand an debate their positions. Do not lead us to believe you are interested in protecting conservative speech as well as speech from the left. And don´t tell us you support free speech since this article clearly statez otherwise. People who support free speech support it in any venue in which it occurs.
11 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
montwoodcliff 4/8/2019 1:27:16 PM (No. 27260)
Talk about living in a bubble! This guy is living on Pluto, completely out of touch with Planet Earth. He is the only one who can define
free speech, according to him. If the alumni had any guts, they would stop contributing to the college and dump this guy at the next board meeting.
13 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
jimincalif 4/8/2019 1:31:43 PM (No. 27255)
Yikes, only speech that fits the Narrative will be permitted. Give credit to Harris for actually saying it, how many others in academia agree but try to disguise it?
Another benefit of the so un-PC President Trump, the ruling class is so incensed they occasionally say what they actually think!
14 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
anniebc 4/8/2019 1:35:27 PM (No. 27239)
He´s on campus, so he should start with himself and shut up, right? But, what he´s saying is that in the leftist state, he wants to run colleges and tell people what to say and do. Oh, and don´t forget the rich stuff in and about colleges; he wants all that too.
10 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
HoraceR 4/8/2019 1:38:55 PM (No. 27241)
“Free speech, in its purest form, is an exercise in what is achieved when a person yells a view and then leaves, after which someone with an opposing perspective does the same.”
Really? Scream and leave.
If you want constructive engagement encourage and protect robust speech. Don´t repress thinking. Students should learn to see issues through the eyes of someone with a differing viewpoint. We have too many closed minded people already.
9 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
janjan 4/8/2019 1:45:47 PM (No. 27252)
Colleges do not exist as a safe haven for liberal professors. They are there to educate students and prepare them for the workforce. The pearl clutchers in academia have little understanding of this. The ‘real world’ is not going to tolerate the childishness and entitlement that these children get away with on campus. They will not change the world.
9 people like this.
I find it refreshing that academia is frankly admitting that it doesn´t allow conservative speech on campus. I also welcome the honesty of the media to exhort its "journ-O-lists" to openly attack conservatives.
The hypocrisy of denying the repression of all things conservative was too much to take. Give me an honest enemy any day over a hypocrite.
17 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
tnorling 4/8/2019 1:47:02 PM (No. 27237)
When I was at Union, the socialists (most of the faculty) were open and mostly tolerant of my views. Today, fascists like Harris seem to be in charge. The problem, President Harris, is that someone decides what speech is acceptable, and that is unacceptable.
14 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
Nevadadad46 4/8/2019 1:47:22 PM (No. 27257)
WOW! This is jaw-dropping.
8 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
Moritz55 4/8/2019 2:00:46 PM (No. 27242)
Well, at least he’s honest about it. Bet he’ll miss the federal funds, though.
15 people like this.
FTA: claiming that institutions of higher learning have a responsibility to manage speech by providing “constructive engagement,” so that students can have an optimal learning experience.
Really, to manage speech, huh?
so, you can provide constructive engagement?
Sound like you are afraid of contrary opinions, and live in a miopic world.
That you support "group-think" which always destroys every organization, eventually since no new input, no "fresh ideas" enter the groups discussions.
Not very inclusive or diverse.
10 people like this.
This is exactly why President Trump initiated his Executive Order regarding federal research funding and free-speech on college campuses.
It only highlights the Left´s need to curtail free speech and control the conversation.
President Trump is masterful in playing the game and is helping to reveal what the Regressive Left is REALLY all about.
Ha! What rational person comes out against free speech?! This dude just played into Trump´s hand. Kudos to you, Mr. President!
18 people like this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
JonR 4/8/2019 2:14:39 PM (No. 27229)
Perhaps this will be a good indicator of how bad and corrupt the "higher learning" institutions have become! These "schools" are literally poisoning the minds of the people that will be trying to run this country and the businesses therein! AOC comes to mind as the poster child for learning gone wrong!
13 people like this.
Reply 25 - Posted by:
VirtuDawg 4/8/2019 2:14:51 PM (No. 27227)
George Orwell was right on in his prediction of the dystopian future under so-called “progressives.”
This proposal is actually REGRESSIVE, taking us back to the dark years of forbidden books and the Inquisition.
16 people like this.
Reply 26 - Posted by:
planetgeo 4/8/2019 2:34:23 PM (No. 27240)
The left should be reminded that the "free speech movement" was initially championed by them. UC Berkeley. Mario Savio. Vietnam War. the 60s.
But yeah, that was when they didn´t yet control all speech, as they do now. It was all fake. It was just to get into a position someday when they are in control. And now that they are, they of course do NOT want free speech for anyone else to challenge their control.
12 people like this.
Reply 27 - Posted by:
TLCary 4/8/2019 2:35:01 PM (No. 27243)
In the USA, under our Constitutional Republic, his point of view is... pointless. He should confer resigning and applying for a College President job in a country where this could be implemented. They usually start with The People’s Republic of... I’ll help you pack and not use any free speech in the process.
9 people like this.
Reply 28 - Posted by:
qr4j 4/8/2019 2:37:04 PM (No. 27236)
Allow people to speak freely. Teach students to question ideas and challenge views respectfully. Help toughen them when others are rude or offensive.
But that’s too hard for this college president. And it takes away his selfish control.
Free speech is essential to a free society. Take it away and you have tyranny. You have slavery.
11 people like this.
Reply 29 - Posted by:
cThree 4/8/2019 2:38:59 PM (No. 27254)
He bases his argument on a “straw man” fallacy (see #16 above) in which he describes free speech as merely yelling. Then he preens about wanting better and so on.
His straw man argument would get him laughed off a high school debate team. Lucky he has steady job....
10 people like this.
Reply 30 - Posted by:
cartcart 4/8/2019 3:37:16 PM (No. 27235)
What color is the sky in their world? Is our society becoming more and more insane as time goes by?
10 people like this.
Reply 31 - Posted by:
DVC 4/8/2019 4:30:01 PM (No. 27258)
That should cost him his job.
The Board of Reagents or whoever hires the President of the college should fire him, today.
11 people like this.
Reply 32 - Posted by:
jacksin5 4/8/2019 5:54:31 PM (No. 27232)
Socrates would slap this boy in the chops.
6 people like this.
Reply 33 - Posted by:
Highvoltage 4/8/2019 6:14:38 PM (No. 27238)
Who deserves to be the filter? Harris would fit well into any Communist regime.
6 people like this.
Reply 34 - Posted by:
Annie Xango 4/8/2019 9:11:49 PM (No. 27256)
OK..I hate to be a Grumpy Puss..but where in the heck is Union College?? which one..there are 3..Is it just me or do writers not adhere to the why, where, when etc etc. stuff???
6 people like this.
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