Speech code gets review
The UW–Madison faculty speech code’s proposed revision is moving forward – and colleges and universities nationwide are watching with great interest.
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Majority opinion By Charles Cohen and Ted Finman
Minority opinion Speech code committee documents |
The University Committee, the executive arm of the Faculty Senate, discussed the proposed legislation at its last two meetings, and the Faculty Senate will consider the issue Dec. 7.
For 18 months, a committee of faculty, academic staff and students has worked to rewrite the 17-year-old policy, one of the first faculty speech codes in the nation. In the process, the committee has disagreed on what limits to set on communication between professors and students.
Both sides of the debate are previewed in this issue of Wisconsin Week. On page 11, readers will find commentaries on the code written by members of the majority and minorities sides of the Ad Hoc Committee on Prohibited Harassment Legislation.
The university’s attempt to revamp its code – one that some contend is already too prohibitive, but under which no professor has ever been formally disciplined – has received widespread attention from academia and First Amendment watchers. Some observers say the new code would lead to more academic freedom and clearer communication in the classroom, while others fear it could foster censorship and have a chilling effect on free speech.
For a full reading of the speech code committee’s work, readers can access the proposed legislation, the minority report and other related information via the World Wide Web at http://www.news.wisc.edu/wire/scode/.