HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle

Do College Students Hate Free Speech? Let's Ask Them.

Views: 856
The faculty council at Occidental College is considering instituting a system for students to report microaggressions perpetrated against them by faculty members or other students.

Reason TV visited Occidental's campus to find out what exactly constitutes a microaggression. One Columbia psychology professor defined the term this way:

Microaggressions are the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership.  

After exploring the limitations of a microaggression reporting system, we discussed broader free speech issues with the students in the wake of a month of campus protests that resulted in the resignations of several faculty members and a university president.

Most of the students defended free speech in principle, if not always in practice. This is consistent with a recent Pew Research Center survey, which found that although 95 percent of Americans agree that people should be allowed to publicly criticize government policies, support erodes when the question turns to offensive speech. While a majority of millennials still believe that the government should protect speech offensive to minorities, a whopping 40 percent believe the government should restric such speech.

"If you say 'You're less of a person because you're Muslim/Jewish/Christian/Catholic... that's not okay. That's a hate crime," one student told us.

Another student argued that the government should curtail the speech of Donald Trump, while a protest organizer told us that free speech is a rhetorical device used by the priveleged against the oppressed.

Visit http://reason.com/reasontv for downloadable versions. Approximately 8:30. Produced by Zach Weissmueller. Shot by Lexy Garcia. Additional post-production by Josh Swain. Music by Anitek, Redmann, and Doron Deutsch.

Subscribe to Reason TV's YouTube channel for daily content like this.
@ReasonVidsfollow
Thumbnail for What Does Star Wars *Mean*?: A Reason Argument Hotter Than the Twin Suns of Tatooine31:58
What Does Star Wars *Mean*?: A Reason Argument Hotter Than the Twin Suns of Tatooine
ReasonVids
840 views
Thumbnail for Prop 19: Should Californians legalize marijuana?5:28
Prop 19: Should Californians legalize marijuana?
ReasonVids
843 views
Thumbnail for Remy: Oops, I Did it Again! (Britney Spears TSA Parody)1:49
Remy: Oops, I Did it Again! (Britney Spears TSA Parody)
ReasonVids
908 views
Thumbnail for Too Much Copyright8:57
Too Much Copyright
ReasonVids
970 views
Thumbnail for NATO faggotry0:53
NATO faggotry
bestofvoatxyz
529 views
Thumbnail for How To End Poverty in the South Bronx8:25
How To End Poverty in the South Bronx
ReasonVids
867 views
Thumbnail for Welcome to Oaksterdam! The Epicenter of the Marijuana Legalization Movement7:59
Welcome to Oaksterdam! The Epicenter of the Marijuana Legalization Movement
ReasonVids
902 views
Thumbnail for Why Voluntary Compliance Is Key To Fighting COVID-19: Dr. Jeremy S. Faust33:12
Why Voluntary Compliance Is Key To Fighting COVID-19: Dr. Jeremy S. Faust
ReasonVids
830 views
Thumbnail for Gov't Tried to Shut Down Rap in Straight Outta Compton, and They're Still Doing It.3:45
Gov't Tried to Shut Down Rap in Straight Outta Compton, and They're Still Doing It.
ReasonVids
859 views
Thumbnail for Private (((owned))) Federal Reserve1:17
Private (((owned))) Federal Reserve
AOUisgay
453 views
Thumbnail for Obamacare Launch Eroding Faith in Government as Problem Solver: Reason-Rupe Poll December 20134:34
Obamacare Launch Eroding Faith in Government as Problem Solver: Reason-Rupe Poll December 2013
ReasonVids
915 views
Thumbnail for Denial: 25 Years Without a Soul - Q/A with Jonathan Rauch9:54
Denial: 25 Years Without a Soul - Q/A with Jonathan Rauch
ReasonVids
964 views
Thumbnail for Don't Expect Millions To Die From Coronavirus, Says Richard Epstein38:11
Don't Expect Millions To Die From Coronavirus, Says Richard Epstein
ReasonVids
868 views
Thumbnail for "The idea that you could openly sell things that help women achieve orgasm is pretty new."14:25
"The idea that you could openly sell things that help women achieve orgasm is pretty new."
ReasonVids
825 views
Thumbnail for The tossers making weekly guitar threads0:03
The tossers making weekly guitar threads
bestofupgoat
41 views
Thumbnail for LAPD Raids Occupy LA2:08
LAPD Raids Occupy LA
ReasonVids
636 views
Thumbnail for Reactions to Sen. Rand Paul's Speech at Howard University2:56
Reactions to Sen. Rand Paul's Speech at Howard University
ReasonVids
882 views
Thumbnail for Bait Bike1:38
Bait Bike
bestofupgoat
348 views
Thumbnail for Don't Fear the Refugees9:19
Don't Fear the Refugees
ReasonVids
1001 views
Thumbnail for 5 Minute Top Down Shooter Unity Tutorial | BMo5:01
5 Minute Top Down Shooter Unity Tutorial | BMo
tech.topic
903 views
Thumbnail for The Iranian Coup that Led to 67 Years of Reckless Intervention4:18
The Iranian Coup that Led to 67 Years of Reckless Intervention
ReasonVids
908 views
Thumbnail for Michael Bloomberg and the Imperious Presidency4:31
Michael Bloomberg and the Imperious Presidency
ReasonVids
860 views
Thumbnail for White student beats up niggroid bully0:28
White student beats up niggroid bully
bestofvoatxyz
766 views

points

Permalink
Reply
college, student (fictional job title), occidental college (college/university), freedom of speech (quotation subject), microaggression, trigger warning, libertarian, reason magazine, oxy united for black liberation, racism, privilege, check your privilege, first amendment to the united states constitution (constitutional amendment), microaggression theory
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle