The State : Anti-Racist Rules Urged

After a series of racial incidents that have caused an uproar on campus, a student-faculty council at Stanford University has proposed regulations that would make the use of racist and other objectionable language in writing or speech punishable by expulsion. The proposal is similar to measures taken at other universities and adds to an ongoing national debate over the limits of free speech in a university setting. The new rules would forbid students to use racial, sexual and other obscenities or epithets. Language that would “stigmatize, victimize, or pejoratively characterize persons or groups on the basis of personal or cultural differences” would be punishable under the new regulations. University President Donald Kennedy, as well as faculty and students, can respond to the council’s proposal in writing. The council then can make changes before the new regulations take effect.