Spring Break
Set speech free at Hopkins
Issue date: 2/28/08
Did you know that Hopkins has been identified as one of the "worst of the worst" when it comes to the abuse of free speech on campus? That's right - Johns Hopkins University, the western hemisphere's first?research institution, with a defined mission of "fostering independent and original research," has recently become the target of biting criticism from a national watchdog organization that monitors the endangerment of free speech and individual expression on campus.
According to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), a non-partisan, non-profit educational foundation dedicated to protecting constitutional liberties on campus, Hopkins under President William Brody has demonstrated greater contempt for the rights of its students in the past two years than nearly any other university in the country. Indeed, Hopkins has earned one of just three spots on FIRE's "Red Alert" list - reserved for schools displaying "severe and ongoing disregard" for students' fundamental rights - and took home the ignominious title of FIRE's first ever "Censor of the Year" for 2006. FIRE warns of a dark future for "free, independent thought" at Hopkins if Brody refuses to eliminate the school's chilling civility code and renew the university's commitment to free speech.
There are several reasons why Hopkins has been condemned to "Red Alert" status.
Perhaps most significant was the suspension of 18-year-old junior Justin Park in November 2006 for an "offensive" party invitation posted on his Facebook.com page. In a clear (if perhaps misguided) attempt at intentionally un-P.C. ironic humor, Park's "Halloween in the Hood" invitation to Sigma Chi's holiday party asked attendees to wear "copious amounts of 'bling bling ice ice'" and listed rapper Ice-T as one of the party's hosts.
However, the administration quickly charged Park with "harassment, intimidation and failure to respect the rights of others." The outrageous punishment for a private Web site post: one-year suspension, 300 hours of community service, written reports on 12 books and diversity counseling. This original judgment, though later amended, was one of the most severe punishments FIRE has ever seen for a student engaged in pure speech. Park's case is just one of a handful at Hopkins, demonstrating how one's academic career can be severely threatened and even ruined by suffocating speech codes.
According to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), a non-partisan, non-profit educational foundation dedicated to protecting constitutional liberties on campus, Hopkins under President William Brody has demonstrated greater contempt for the rights of its students in the past two years than nearly any other university in the country. Indeed, Hopkins has earned one of just three spots on FIRE's "Red Alert" list - reserved for schools displaying "severe and ongoing disregard" for students' fundamental rights - and took home the ignominious title of FIRE's first ever "Censor of the Year" for 2006. FIRE warns of a dark future for "free, independent thought" at Hopkins if Brody refuses to eliminate the school's chilling civility code and renew the university's commitment to free speech.
There are several reasons why Hopkins has been condemned to "Red Alert" status.
Perhaps most significant was the suspension of 18-year-old junior Justin Park in November 2006 for an "offensive" party invitation posted on his Facebook.com page. In a clear (if perhaps misguided) attempt at intentionally un-P.C. ironic humor, Park's "Halloween in the Hood" invitation to Sigma Chi's holiday party asked attendees to wear "copious amounts of 'bling bling ice ice'" and listed rapper Ice-T as one of the party's hosts.
However, the administration quickly charged Park with "harassment, intimidation and failure to respect the rights of others." The outrageous punishment for a private Web site post: one-year suspension, 300 hours of community service, written reports on 12 books and diversity counseling. This original judgment, though later amended, was one of the most severe punishments FIRE has ever seen for a student engaged in pure speech. Park's case is just one of a handful at Hopkins, demonstrating how one's academic career can be severely threatened and even ruined by suffocating speech codes.
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