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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: puborectalis who wrote (37950)	8/5/2008 12:32:42 PM
From: Ann Corrigan	Respond to of 224757

Victory for free speech on Campus:Bosnia Vet voiced opposition to women in combat(gasp!) Court Nixes Temple Speech Restrictions Bradley Vasoli, The Philadelphia Bulletin, 08/05/2008 A U.S. circuit court yesterday upheld a lower court ruling striking down guidelines restricting the speech of Temple University students on the basis they violate students' constitutional right to open discourse. Christian DeJohn, a Temple military history graduate student, had voiced to classmates and professors his opposition to women serving in combat. Mr. DeJohn, who served in active duty in Bosnia, felt professors' hostility to his views on military policy and the university's broad rules against sexual harassment created a "chilling effect" keeping him from candidly expressing his opinions. The university's rules read, in part, "all forms of sexual harassment are prohibited, including ... expressive, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual or gender-motivated nature, when ... such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work, educational performance, or status; or ... such conduct has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment." Judge D. Brooks Smith, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, wrote such a policy is too ill-defined to stand as a measure strictly designed to prevent sexual harrassment. "... Some speech that creates a 'hostile or offensive environment' may be protected speech under the First Amendment," Judge Smith wrote. "It is difficult to cabin this phrase, which could encompass any speech that might simply be offensive to a listener, or a group of listeners, believing that they are being subjected to or surrounded by hostility." David Hacker, an attorney with the nonprofit Alliance Defense Fund, said the ruling represented an important triumph for free speech on university campuses. "It's really a significant victory for the free speech rights for Mr. DeJohn and all students at Temple University," Mr. Hacker said. "The fact that he was courageous enough to challenge this policy and really take a stand for free-speech in general is a testament to his character and will serve as a precedent for years to come." Mr. DeJohn has completed all the coursework necessary to receive his master's degree, but his graduation remains in limbo over administrative disputes between him and Temple he says are the result of political intolerance on the part of department administrators. Temple could not provide comment as The Bulletin went to press. Bradley Vasoli can be reached at bvasoli@thebulletin.us The Evening Bulletin 2008