Responding to a parent’s complaint, Tennessee State University has blocked juicycampus.com from the university’s internet access servers. (source)
Attorney David Hudson of Nashville’s First Amendment Center had some issues with the decision:
“[TSU] is a public university, which is a governmental actor. Generally there are pretty high thresholds when government officials make content-based and viewpoint-based restrictions on speech. It certainly raises some First Amendment questions…. Students would definitely have standing.” (source)
Vanderbilt University had its own soul-searching experience with Juicy Campus. A Vandy student was the victim of a sexual assault, and someone posted a comment on Juicy Campus that the victim “deserved it.”
But despite the post, Vanderbilt chose not to block the site. “There were some on campus who wanted us to block the website, but the decision was made not to do that for freedom of speech and First Amendment rights,” says Beth Fortune, Vanderbilt’s interim vice chancellor for public affairs. “Our goal was just not to bring attention to the JuicyCampus site. We trust our students to make their best judgments on what they read and what they write.” The comment is still posted. (source)
Tennessee State’s action should come as a warning sign. Back in the 1990s, liberal academia thought that the First Amendment ended when someone got their feelings hurt. The First Amendment does not have a “crybaby exception.” When a university, especially one that is government-funded, decides that it will censor some sites, but not others, because of perceived offense from a thin-skinned crybaby, that university is not being governed responsibly. Vanderbilt got it right — treat its students like adults, and they will make adult choices (and suffer adult consequences). Tennessee State is only preparing its students to be bleating sheep in a nanny state.
Note: The article quotes one of our favorite sister-blogs, Popehat!
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Wow! And quoted us with a dig on that vermin Ivester, no less. I’m quitting my day job! It’s the big time now, baby!
What the hell is the matter with you and this world??? The site shouldn’t be just blocked it should be SHUT DOWN! If everyone cared more about each other and less about freedom of speech and posting idiodic slander on a public website we wouldn’t have half of the problems we do.
MANY business places block certain websites, even government work places. Its the same thing. Students should be at school to learn and work, not gossip.
The author of this article is obviously NOT a parent. The second you have children who would be at risk for being targeted would understand that there should be a better freedom of speech laws that protect these “cry babys” who the rest of this compassionate world would rather consider sensitive children. Cry baby??? This girl was sexually assaulted you ass!
Well, Leigh Anne, I am a parent.
And, I want my daughter to inherit a country where our liberties are protected. That requires me to fight against the tide of people like yourselves — people with no concept of liberty — people who would sell every drop of liberty for mere quiet.
You say If everyone cared more about each other and less about freedom of speech and posting idiodic slander on a public website we wouldn’t have half of the problems we do.. I think the opposite. If everyone cared more about the Constitution, we would be better off. Nobody is defending the decision to post nasty comments on a website. We stand up for the right to engage in free discourse.
This comment of yours is really disturbing: ANY business places block certain websites, even government work places. Its the same thing. Students should be at school to learn and work, not gossip.. First off, the University is a government actor. If you aren’t qualified to enter the discussion, please run back and tune into your Tivoed session of “The View,” because I’m sure that you hang on Elizabeth Hasselbeck’s every word.
There are no “better freedom of speech laws” than the ones we have. There is no room for the sensibilities of crybabies (yes crybabies) to become the standard by which the rest of our freedoms are judged.
Now run along… the View is on.
[...] their censorial desires to tinker with the marketplace of ideas and shut down Juicy Campus. Tennessee State University banned the site (while their peers at Vanderbilt had a clearer view of the First Amendment). Attention-seeking [...]