Hate speech vs. free speech: UC regents to debate proposal on fighting intolerance
California Gov. Jerry Brown and UC President Janet Napolitano, both UC regents, attend a March meeting of the university board. This week the regents will discuss a proposal designed to limit intolerance.
The UC regents are meeting this week, and much interest is focused on a discussion scheduled for Thursday about proposed “principles against intolerance.”
The statement would condemn bias, violence and hate speech based on race, ethnicity, religion, citizenship, sex or sexual orientation while also attempting to protect free speech on campuses.
The regents’ meetings at UC Irvine are scheduled to start Tuesday evening and continue through Thursday afternoon.
On Thursday morning, starting at 8:30, the public comment period and the educational policy committee’s session are expected to be contentious.
Some Jewish activists say they will press their argument that the statement is far too weak on taking steps against anti-Semitism, while some free speech advocates are expected to contend the principles will chill the rights to free expression.
According to a proposed draft, “everyone in the university community has the right to study, teach, conduct research and work free from acts and expressions of intolerance.”
The statement adds that it is not intended to inhibit faculty’s classroom lectures and scholarship or students’ political or literary expression protected by “academic freedom or free-speech principles.”
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Some Jewish groups want UC to formally adopt a U.S. State Department definition of anti-Semitism, which includes the demonization of Israel and denials of that nation’s right to exist.
Those groups say that anti-Israel protests and activism on UC campuses sometimes cross the line into anti-Semitism and create a hostile environment for Jewish students.
The proposal is listed on the agenda as being for discussion only, without a formal vote planned. Officials said a vote on the matter may be months away.
Follow me @larrygordonlat on Twitter.
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