The stories of offensive behavior are shocking: While on a campus tour, African American high school students were pelted with bananas. After a professor limited the use of cell phones and laptops in class, a student challenged the professor to a fight. Jewish students were labeled as terrorists because they expressed support for Israel.
What is going on here? Have we become so accustomed to inflammatory speech on cable news and anonymous, hateful spewings on the Internet that such behavior isn’t surprising anymore? Whatever the cause, several universities are sponsoring programs to increase civility, common decency, and respect, at least on campus. Among those schools are the University of Missouri, Rutgers, the University of Arizona, and the University of Tennessee.
The initiatives undertaken at these schools include a wide range of programs. The University of Missouri sponsored a Thanksgiving meal and invited people of all faiths to share their traditions. The University of Tennessee College of Law puts extra effort into attracting and retaining black students. Various websites invite polite discussion of sometimes uncomfortable topics. And so on . . .
Some observers, however, feel that the more restrictive of such programs violate the First Amendment guarantee of free speech. After all, say these voices, it is unpopular speech that is in the greatest danger of suppression and therefore needs the Constitution’s protections the most. In response to such objections, some civility proponents have modified their policies, to make them recommendations rather than rules. The professor credited with starting the campus civility movement, Pier Forni of Johns Hopkins University, expressed the need for compromise succinctly when he said, “Civility is not something to enforce.”
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Related Links
- Civility Efforts Seek Better Behavior on Campus
This article gives an overview of the topic of civility on college campuses.
(Source: Associated Press, November 1, 2012) - Show Me Respect
Read about how the University of Missouri is promoting civility on campus. Click on the Civility Toolbox button for links to specific suggestions for improving civility.
(Source: University of Missouri; accessed November 30, 2012) - University of Tennessee Principles of Civility and Community
The University of Tennessee at Knoxville is also trying to improve civility.
(Source: University of Tennessee at Knoxville; accessed November 30, 2012) - Choosing Civility in a Rude Culture
Read a review of The Civility Solution: What to Do When People Are Rude, by Johns Hopkins University professor Pier M. Forni.
(Source: Smithsonian.com, December 1, 2008) - Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
For a different view of the issue, check out this website, which includes a video titled “In Defense of Being Offensive.”
(Source: Foundation for Individual Rights in Education; accessed November 30, 2012)
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