The Observer, September 28, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 5
Outside the Cirlce
A clash of rights
Public colleges' anti-bias policies have been under attack in recent years by federal courts. In rulings that seek to end types of discrimination, the court is ruling in favor of First Amendment rights over the colleges' anti-bias principles.
But an unusual ruling last week is challenging that conventional view. A federal appeals court ruled to deny recognition to a fraternity at the City University of New York because it doesn't let women become members.
In a statement that some educators view as long overdue from the courts, the Second Circuit said that a public college "has a substantial interest in making sure that its resources are available to all its students."
Some legal experts view last week's ruling as an isolated incident. An appeal is almost certain.
In the new ruling, "the court is saying there's no question but that the government has a substantial interest in eradicating discrimination and it recognizes that non-discrimination policies that condition funding interfere [with students' rights] only to a limited degree, and that's exactly the issue in our case," said Ethan P. Schulman, a lawyer for the University of California Hastings College of Law.
Other professionals have a variety of predictions on what will happen because of the ruling. Many see a new front in the culture wars, with many anti-Greek professors and educators seizing on the opportunity to attack fraternities and sororities, while lawmakers rush to protect the Greeks' rights.
Other single-sex organizations of campuses, such as a cappella groups, may find themselves under scrutiny as well. And others think that the fight over Christian groups that discriminate against those who don't share their beliefs is about to get much more intense.
"This decision breathes life into the notion that anti-discrimination standards are standards that we should all adhere too, and that universities can define those broadly," said Lawrence White, formerly general counsel at Georgetown University. By declaring that anti-bias policies "serve an important institutional interest," he said, "this decision does provide a lever [to collegiate institutions]."
Office hours: coming to a computer near you
Students at Harvard University may never have to leave their dorm rooms to visit a professor again. The school's Intro to Computer Science class is installing virtual office hours during which students can partake in online help sessions.
Using free, Java-based software, students can log on, chat with each other (via text or microphone) and even "raise their hands" with the click of a button, which adds them to a queue on the teaching fellow's computer.
The program is similar to a traditional online chat room, but the student is presented with a window that shows what the instructor is seeing on his or her own computer screen. In addition, the instructor has the ability to "take control" of the student's computer to demonstrate programming concepts, much like an IT specialist.
"The motivations ... were quite honestly as simple as convenience and efficiency," said David J. Malan, the course's instructor.
Could other courses follow a similar trend? "I wouldn't go so far as to say that this is a compelling technology for most classes or any classes," Malan said. The key, he believes, is that the computer science course "is largely keyboard-based" as opposed to, say, a more paper-and-pencil oriented math class.
The platonic ideal of perfection
In Alison Laywine's Platonic philosophy class, students are required to gain familiaritiy with the Greek alphabet in order to refer to original texts at times. To make sure this happened, Laywine tested her students two weeks into the class on the subject and required students to get a 100 percent to continue with the class.
The exam was given during the drop/add period, and no previous knowledge of Greek was presumed. The exam itself was also given after two weeks of lecture on the Greek alphabet. But students who did not receive a 100 percent were required to drop the course, which caused a drastic student response.
The requirement is certainly not the norm in a typical classroom, but Laywine said she has had at least one colleague use the same policy. "I was surprised by the reaction," she said. "I really think our students overreacted."
Laywine noted that learning the Greek alphabet isn't that difficult. It's a task that can be accomplished in a day.
In requiring the memorization of the alphabet, Laywine said, "[It] didn't mean that I thought any part of philosophy should be strictly rote learning ... but you do have to be able to remember stuff," she pointed out, such as the contours of an argument in order to be able to discuss it intelligently.
The McGill Daily reports the number of students in the class as declining from 50 to about 34 at the beginning of the week. Laywine said, however, that the same drop occurred last year, to 33 from 50, without the alphabet quiz.
Shock heard round the world
The video is a YouTube sensation, but the incident is already infamous. The University of Florida's actions in employing a stun gun against Andrew Meyer, a student, has drawn considerable criticism.
Meyer was asking a question at a podium during Sen. John Kerry's speech at the University of Florida last week when police first stood behind him, then forcibly removed him from the microphone, then later used a Taser gun on him when he continued to resist the police. A university spokesman said that Meyer was removed from the podium because his question time had expired. But other audience members say he was removed after saying "blow job" in reference to President Clinton.
The YouTube video shows Meyer being led off the stage and directed to the back of the auditorium, as well as the use of the Taser gun. Throughout the process, Meyer yells to others for help, screaming, "What did I do?", and telling an officer, "Don't taze me, bro."
Many have criticized the actions of the campus police for using a stun gun in the following days, while others have criticized Meyer for his behavior.
J. Bernard Machen, Florida's president, said at a news conference that, "We're absolutely committed to having a safe environment for our faculty and our students so that the free exchange of ideas can occur," Machen said. "Civil discourse and civil debate are hallmarks of universities."
Meyer was charged with resisting the police and disrupting a public event. The two officers involved in the incident are now on administrative leave with an external investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement pending.
