MU Free Speech Etcetera

General Comments

2007-02-09T13:34:00.000-05:00

Let your voice be heard! If you came to this blog via www.marywoodfreespeech.com, then thank you for your support! We're striving to bring you free speech on Marywood University's campus. Please help us help you and many others by leaving your comments and thoughts here!

*Please note: this 'General Comments' topic covers all bases for now. Once we see what specific things people enjoy or are concerned about, we will have more specific discussion topics.

See marywoodfreespeech.com

2007-01-31T10:53:00.000-05:00

Check it out. We may publish this blog to that site.

Comments from www.marywoodfreespeech.com

2007-01-05T14:09:00.000-05:00

Comments will moderated for relevance (must relate to the free speech issue at Marywood University) and general good taste. But I will be pretty open. Think before you post...always good advice. I will try to have a few topic areas going. I will try to moderate the comments three times a day.

I or my comrades will try to regularly copy comments from here and paste them to a linked page on

Best...pman Fagal

marywoodfreespeech.com coming circa January 10

2006-12-28T20:29:00.000-05:00

Things are beginning to happen at Marywood. Students have formed a Marywood Students for Free Speech FACEBOOK group. A famous speaker is expected to come to campus in
early February. A website address has been purchased and the server space to go with it. The website is under construction. The website will give the details about what is going on wrt free speech (or lack thereof) at Marywood. So along about January 10, 2007 check out www.marywoodfreespeech.com
You can also send an email to mufreespeech@gmail.com

This blog will get some updates too. Stay tuned...the turtle wins some races...

MU Free Speech Etcetera

2006-11-30T08:50:00.000-05:00

MU Free Speech Update
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education or FIRE does great work.
Go to to see the latest. Who knows,
Marywood University may even appear some day...meanwhile scroll down and read about
Columbia University (outrageous).

MU Free Speech Etcetera

2006-11-12T12:03:00.000-05:00

MU Free Speech Etcetera

Keep Checking Back -

2006-06-08T09:00:00.000-04:00

Waiting for a policy clarification. Been waiting a long time now. But I will not give up

Marywood Students Vote For Free Speech

2006-05-16T16:36:00.001-04:00

Student canvassers worked in Madonna, Immaculata, and Regina Halls.
The vote was:

130 For Free Speech
11 For Limited "Responsible" Speech

3 more faculty votes - wow

2006-05-01T21:45:00.000-04:00

Two were of the nuanced "free speech" category [I support free sppech BUT] , one was against free speech and thought it needs to be limited. But I do thank the three for voting ... better than the rampant apathy...

WATCH FOR STUDENT VOTE RESULTS: Hint( good news )

Northern Kentucky

2006-04-18T06:29:00.000-04:00

NOTE: the below is from www.instapundit.com [Glenn Reynolds]April 18, 2006
EXCELLENT!

FREE SPEECH UPDATE: A reader sends an email to the campus from Northern Kentucky University President James Votruba, regarding the incident in which a professor destroyed a pro-life cross exhibit. Whole thing's below the fold (click "read more" to read it) but here's an excerpt:

It has been heartening that student and faculty groups that do not necessarily support the position of Northern Kentucky Right to Life have come out strongly in support of the organization's right to be heard through their display. This reflects a commitment to the importance of free speech and inquiry as a hallmark of our University.

Professor Jacobsen has been removed from her remaining classes and placed on leave from the University. She will retire from the University at the end of this semester. The Faculty Senate, representing more than 1,000 NKU faculty members, has taken strong action today that affirms the importance of free expression as a defining quality of the University. Our campus has spoken with a strong and unified voice.

This seems right to me. Click below to read the whole thing. And bravo to Northern Kentucky University, which seems to have hit just the right tone, something that's not to be taken for granted these days. In fact, Harvard, Yale, and Columbia have been conspicuous in their recent failures to do as well.

Read More »

(Letter from President Votruba follows)

I am writing to comment on the recent destruction of an approved campus display created by the Northern Kentucky Right to Life student organization.

One of the important roles that a university must play is to be a forum for debate and analysis concerning the important issues of the day. Often these issues are surrounded by strident rhetoric and strong emotions which makes it even more incumbent on the university to create and nurture an intellectual environment in which reason and evidence prevail and where all points of view can be heard.

Northern Kentucky University has a distinguished record of addressing important public issues in a balanced way. We are proud that, as a campus, we are not the captive of one ideology or point of view. At their best, universities are not places of comfortable conformity. They are places where ideas collide as students and faculty search for deeper understandings and perspectives.

While the University supports the right to free speech and vigorous debate on public issues, we cannot condone infringement of the rights of others to express themselves in an orderly manner. By leading her students in the destruction of an approved student organization display, Professor Sally Jacobsen's actions were inconsistent with Northern Kentucky University's commitment to free and open debate and the opportunity for all sides to be heard without threat of censorship or reprisal.

It has been heartening that student and faculty groups that do not necessarily support the position of Northern Kentucky Right to Life have come out strongly in support of the organization's right to be heard through their display. This reflects a commitment to the importance of free speech and inquiry as a hallmark of our University.

Professor Jacobsen has been removed from her remaining classes and placed on leave from the University. She will retire from the University at the end of this semester. The Faculty Senate, representing more than 1,000 NKU faculty members, has taken strong action today that affirms the importance of free expression as a defining quality of the University. Our campus has spoken with a strong and unified voice. Further action may occur once a full investigation has been completed.

The action taken by the University should be considered in the context of Professor Jacobsen's entire 27 year career at NKU. Nevertheless, her recent lapse of judgment was severe and, for a period of time, has caused some in our community and beyond to question whether Northern Kentucky University upholds freedom of expression. My answer to this question is an unequivocal yes. NKU lives its commitment to free expression and responds when that commitment has been compromised.

America is, today, debating a variety of polarizing issues around which people feel great passion. It is not surprising that these strong sentiments find their way onto college campuses. However, our role is to add light to these debates, not more heat. If we don't serve this role, who will?

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Who, indeed? As I said, bravo. This is how universities are supposed to act, but it's certainly not to be taken for granted these days.

« Close

2006-04-09T10:40:00.000-04:00

From: Professor Frederick Fagal (Assoc. Prof of Economics) April 5, 2006
To: Marywood Students living on campus (commuters count too, but this vote is for campus residents)

SHORT ONE-PAGE VERSION: vote for or against student free speech on campus.
This one-page version will save you reading time, but for a longer presentation please 1)Go to http://woodmary.blogspot.com for the blog MU FREE SPEECH ETCETERA
[SORRY - I must have erased it in process of editing! I will try to find a paper copy and get it posted)
Get your ballot from the ballot taker for your living area. Sign the “I voted” sheet and cast your ballot.

Someone in each dorm/living area will arrange a GROUP “free speech” photograph. The group photo will be posted on the woodmary.blogspot.com website and labeled something like “xxx Dorm Students for Free Speech”. Be in the photo to go public !

The accompanying poster is meant to offend almost everyone. [Not now online, the a link to the Word file may be posted later] That is the point of the poster ! People can make fools of themselves if they want to. Examine the poster. If you support free speech you might hear or see things in the dorm or around campus that make you mad! BUT that is the price of free speech. Fight bad stupid speech with wise speech. Let there be a competition of ideas. The competition of ideas might cause your ideas to change. And you may sway others. Great! That’s called free and open debate. No holds barred… The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education has a great website www.thefire.org which discusses legal issues and the reasons why free speech is good. Check it out. Let your ideas be challenged. You will be sharper for it. Justice Douglas’ majority opinion Terminillo v Chicago (1949) noted “The right to speak freely and to promote diversity of ideas and programs is therefore one of the chief distinctions that sets us apart from totalitarian regimes.”
THE BALLOT CHOICES ARE:
1. I support free speech for Marywood University Students.I recognize that this may mean that some people may take offense at some speech. I am a Marywood University student who lives in university housing.
----------------
2. I believe speech must be responsible, and that student speech on the Marywood Campus must be limited to what the administration or some other Marywood University designated body allows. I am a Marywood University student who lives in university housing.
THINK BEFORE you vote. You need not vote right away. The ballot box closes on Monday. You may take one ballot, do not lose it. But damaged ballots (“soda spill”) will be replaced.
---- Does Free Speech Mean Anything Goes ? No…
There are constitutional limits to free speech. You can picket an abortion clinic, say, or have an anti-abortion march in the neighborhood of a doctor who does abortions. You can’t camp out in front of the doctor’s house and protest. In the dorm that would mean (I think) that you could have (say) a pro-abortion poster on your door. Someone else down the hall could have a poster saying “Abortion is murder and those who support it are murderers”. But the anti-abortion students could not hang out in front of the pro-abortion person’s door in a vigil seeking the “redemption of a supporter of murder”. See www.thefire.org for legal cases.
Today many private colleges and universities severely limit speech on campus. This is usually done in the name of protecting the feelings of others. You know, political correctness… again, see www.thefire.org . Private universities can legally do things public ones cannot, but private institutions must do what they claim they will do. Note that Marywood’s student handbook says “Free inquiry and free expression are indispensable to the attainment of these goals.”
Recent News:
Last week Borders Bookstores decided not to sell Free Inquiry magazine because it published the Danish Mohammed cartoons; Borders honestly said it feared for the safety of their employees if they carried the magazine! Sadly, threats worked…

One week ago, New York University, whose explicit policies support free speech, forbade the display of the Mohammed cartoons at what was to be an open forum about free speech and the cartoons! NYU was worried about violence … Read the full story at http://www.thefire.org/index.php/article/6930.html GOOD NEWS: KATU-TV in Portland, OR showed the cartoons April 1.

Consider what life will be like if those who claim offense (and back up their threats with violence because they are “provoked”) rule the day. Again, Marywood’s student handbook says “Free inquiry and free expression are indispensable to the attainment of these goals.” To me that sounds good. Many universities (wrongly I think) impose all sorts of limits. But you must exercise your rights of free inquiry and free expression to make sure that those rights are, in fact, respected and available. Do you want the most easily offended to set the rules of discussion and speech ? Without free speech that is where we will be taken…

Do NOT rely on the faculty to protect your rights! I sadly report the free speech survey results from the Marywood faculty :
I received only 22 responses from roughly 150 surveys. Each faculty member received a stamped addressed return envelope!
9 professors (3 willing to go public) support free speech for students on campus
4 professors (3 willing to go public) would limit student speech on campus , 8 professors had an in-between position or no opinion
~118 professors did not care enough about the free speech issue to respond one way or the other!
Finally, due to opposition by Harvard’s undergraduate liberal arts faculty , Harvard University’s brilliant (economist J ) president Larry Summers recently resigned over a political correctness flap(s). But 80% of Harvard undergraduate students said that Summers should stay! Student opinion need NOT reflect faculty opinion; never forget you students are the paying customers !
THANK YOU for reading, thinking, and voting. Sincere Best Wishes, Frederick Fagal, Assoc. Prof. Economics

Posting Allowed?

2006-04-04T11:57:00.000-04:00

Introduction

2006-04-03T21:53:00.000-04:00

This blog supports free speech at Marywood University in Scranton, PA
Other Marywood University issues may find their way to this blog too...