Reference no: EM133326636

Case: A state university adopts the following policy: "A student or faculty member may be suspended or expelled for any behavior, verbal or physical, that stigmatizes an individual on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, creed, ancestry, age, marital status, handicap, or veteran status."

Question 1: Decide whether the following actions violate the above policy. If they do, should the student or faculty member be punished?

• After writing a limerick for an assignment, a student reads it aloud in an English class. It makes fun of the reported homosexual acts of a politician.

• A white student writes an article on race relations for the school newspaper. It states that African Americans are more likely than whites to become criminals in the United States, and this is one reason whites do not mix more with African Americans.

• The athletic director schedules the varsity club's awards dinner on a major Muslim holiday. Several Muslim athletes are unable to attend.

• An African American student hears that a group of Chinese students will not socialize with African Americans. She calls them "typical Chinese racists."

• Wearing white robes and hoods, a white supremacist student group stages a silent march on campus.

Question 2. What are the arguments for and against the above policy? Do you support or oppose it? Can it be improved? If so, how? Are there ways for students to take a stand against hate speech even if there is no code? Explain.

Question 3. Should television and radio stations be regulated by laws, or should they have their own rules similar to the above university policy? Should other private businesses have similar rules? Give your reasons.

Question 4. Think about how racial and ethnic slurs compare with fighting words. In what ways are they the same? How do they differ?