(1996). "25 Years of Educational Excellence." Special Issue Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Journal of the Pennsylvania Black Conference on Higher Education, Inc. Journal of the Pennsylvania Black Conference on Higher Education, v11 spec iss spr. The articles in this document are intended to be reflective of the theme "A Silver Celebration: 25 Years of Educational Excellence," and cover topics ranging from black college athletes to black real estate owners to the status of African Americans in Pennsylvania colleges and universities. They include: "The Social and Political Dimensions of Achieving a Multicultural College Curriculum" (Carolyn D. W. Princes; Andrew O. Igbineweka); "Black Student Collegiate Recruitment in Pennsylvania: A Historiographical Analysis" (R. Pierre Rodgers); "Can Campus Hateful Speech Rules and the Free Speech Clause of the United States Constitution Co-Exist in an Un-Civil Society" (Davie Tate, Jr.); "Confusion Exists in the Purchase of Residential Real Estate: Is It Race Related?" (Vanessa J. Lawrence); "Problems Affecting African American Student-Athletes at Predominantly White Institutions" (Darren J. Hamilton; Sherry L. Price); and… [PDF]
(1990). Justifying Suppression: The Sedition Act of 1798 as Evidence of Framers' Intent. The Bill of Rights contains a set of simple statements about the rights which citizens may claim in disputes with the government. Those who suggest that the First Amendment has always represented a strong commitment to free speech ignore the historical lesson offered by the Sedition Act of 1798. The early American republic maintained careful neutrality between warring France and Britain. Federalists, suspicious of the Republicans' friendship with the French, won congressional passage of the Sedition Act. The statute criminalized criticism of the American government. At that time, the government was in the hands of the pro-British Federalists, while much of the criticism leveled at that party came from certain Republican newspapers and legislators. Federalists defended the Act as necessary to the defense of the United States. The law was expressly designed to suppress any and all political opposition to Federalist leadership and policies. Republican-dominated Southern legislatures… [PDF]
(1995). Anatomy of the Scopes Trial: Mencken's Media Event. The 1925 Scopes trial and H. L. Mencken's published opinions about it provides an excellent example for both scholar and student alike to study issues of free speech, justice, publicity, public relations, and cutting journalistic writing. "Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes was a Mencken extravaganza; he gave the trial its derisive name and described it as "colossal buffoonery." A review of the developments of the trial shows that it is more complex than it is generally understood to be. It sprang from questionable purposes; all parties concerned held dubious motivations and goals. Dayton's townspeople were swindled by an eager desire for fame and greedy hopes for local prosperity from a public relations-backed publicity spectacle. The publicity generated a carnival-like atmosphere that made their town and themselves the laughingstock of the nation. Like the young and inexperienced teacher John Scopes, the people of Dayton were willing, ill-used pawns in an enterprise… [PDF]
(1984). Who Runs the Schools: Judges or Educators?. This paper argues that courts have tended to identify and enforce individual rights at the expense, in many instances, of the ability of school boards and legislatures to carry out what they perceive to be the will of the majority of voters in their jurisdictions. The trend emphasizing individual rights began in 1954 with the Supreme Court decision in "Brown v. Board of Education" that upheld the rights of minorities over the will of the majority with respect to school segregation. Other pivotal Supreme Court decisions and acts of Congress that furthered this trend are discussed, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964; "Pickering v. Board of Education" (free speech for teachers on issues of public interest); "Tinker v. Board of Education" (students' right to nondisruptive free expression), legislation against discrimination on the basis of sex or handicap; and two 1975 Supreme Court decisions protecting students' constitutional rights against school…
(1988). Freedom of Expression and Government Employees: A Traditional Point of View. To consider one aspect of workplace freedom of speech–the question of authority versus freedom, this paper examines the first amendment protections of government workers. The paper looks at freedom of speech rights by using two theoretical frameworks (the natural rights view and the law and economics view) to analyze Supreme Court decisions on balancing free speech and government efficiency. These frameworks are also used to interpret Supreme Court decisions on distinguishing matters of public concern from matters of personal concern and defining topics of public concern. The paper concludes that, after nearly 20 years, judicial decisions in the Consitutional rights of public employees are starting to settle into a recognizable pattern and that there are two sides to be weighed when evaluating workplace freedom of speech. The paper identifies one side as the commenting side, where speech is considered protected if it addresses a matter of public concern. The other side is…
(1994). Say It Loud! The Story of Rap Music. Rap, a popular music that emerged in the United States during the 1980s and 90s, is described as a creation of young African American culture. It belongs to a centuries old legacy of using language creatively in everyday life. The roots of the music are seen as part of the African-American oral and musical traditions that encompass the hidden messages of slave folktales, the call and response of the Black church, the joy and pain of the blues, the jive talk and slang of disc jockeys and jazz musicians, the boasting of street talk, the wit of comedians, and the eloquence of Black activists. Rap shares West Africa as a common place of origin. After a Prologue, "Young Lions of America", the work is organized into seven chapters and an epilogue. These are Chapter 1, "The Roots of Rap"; Chapter 2, "Get On Up: The Rise of African-American Culture"; Chapter 3, "Back in the Day"; Chapter 4, "The Message Spreads"; Chapter 5, "Roots,…
(1993). Is There Need for a Feminist Perspective on Hate Speech?. A feminist perspective can be valuable in analysis of hate speech, but the analysis must connect with other social, political, and cultural perspectives such as race, class, sexual orientation, unity, and diversity. Hate speech has emerged as a contemporary political issue and is particularly visible on college and university campuses. Judicial response to speech codes, including those on university campuses, has been that such codes are overbroad and a violation of the First Amendment. Five categories of unprotected speech are: clear and present danger; obscenity; commercial speech; libel; and "fighting words" doctrine. Only the "fighting words" doctrine may possibly apply to hate speech. Some scholars have argued that hate speech violates the rights of equal protection and opportunity guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. Feminist legal theory attempts to reveal the discriminatory basis of legal rules and practices otherwise assumed to be neutral or… [PDF]
(1991). A Time for Choices. A collection of essays on the 10 amendments that comprise the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution is presented in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights. The following essays are included: "The First Amendment and the Virtues of an Open Society" (R. Smolla); "The First Amendment as a Guardian of Liberties" (M. Halperin); "The First Amendment and the Role of a Free Press in a Free Society" (B. Sanford); "An Unsettled Arena: Religion and the First Amendment" (R. White, Jr.); "The Second Amendment: The Right to Bear Arms" (W. Burger); "The Fourth Amendment, Privacy, and Modern Technology: A Time for Reassessment" (G. Trubow); "The Right of the People to be Secure in Their Persons, Homes, Papers, and Effects" (Y. Kamisar); "Freedom of Speech and the Privilege Against Self-Incrimination" (Justice W. Erickson); "Reconcilable Rights to a Fair Trial and a Free…
(1992). Telling the Truth. A Report on the State of the Humanities in Higher Education. This report examines the problem of the pervasiveness of politics in today's higher education, particularly in the humanities, and argues the need for college and university campuses to return to seeking the truth and telling it rather than straying into the position that the aim of education is for students to become politically transformed. Too often, it is argued, classrooms are being used to advance a political agenda, and for students to resist such efforts in teaching often means to risk ostracism both by their classmates and their professors. The report stresses that seeking higher standards of human endeavor is no longer as important as politically correct thinking. Academic freedom is being transformed to the point where the expression of controversial views (i.e., views differing from those being inculcated by the instructor) now comes with a high social cost; on campus and off, truth is seen as nothing more than different perspectives being advanced by different people to… [PDF]
(1998). Addressing Teachers' Concerns about Diversity in Composition Classrooms. First-year teaching assistants (TAs) at Arizona State University participate in a fair amount of training–in rhetorical theory, composition theory, teaching theory and practices, the English 101 syllabus, and university policies and services. But one classroom incident which began with a TA resulted in much turmoil on campus. Two examples of materials with hostile and offensive language aimed at persons from underrepresented groups transmitted over the Internet were brought to an English 101 class by a TA because they outraged her. To heighten teachers' awareness of matters of diversity, additional training was offered to all composition teachers. The Intergroup Relations Center (IRC) was established in the summer of 1997. The Composition Program has worked closely with the IRC to raise teachers' awareness of diversity issues and to offer pedagogical strategies for fostering diversity in the classroom. The IRC staff designed an 8-hour series of four workshops for teachers. The… [PDF]
(1992). Bigotry, Prejudice, and Hatred: Definitions, Causes, and Solutions. Contemporary Issues Series. The causes of bigotry, prejudice, and hatred and what can be done about them are discussed by the authors represented in this collection. Most of the book provides general discussions of these issues, but Part 2, "Universities and the 'Politically Correct' Response to Hatred and Prejudice," contains some specific examinations of these issues and their impact on the college campus. Contributions are (1) "Equality" (Abraham Kaplan); (2) "The Nature of Hatred" (Gordon W. Allport); (3) "Portrait of the Anti-Semite" (Jean-Paul Sartre); (4) "Construction, Deconstruction, and Reconstruction of Difference" (Paula Rothenberg); (5) "Oberlin" (Jacob Weisberg); (6) "Berkeley" (Stephen R. Barnett); (7) "The Cult of Multiculturalism" (Fred Siegel); (8) "Free Speech for Campus Bigots: (Jon Wiener); (9) "A Classical Case for Gay Studies" (Martha Nussbaum); (10) "Causes of Prejudice" (Elliot…
(1991). Teaching the Tyrants: Perspectives on Freedom of Speech and Undergraduates. Teaching freedom of speech to undergraduates is a difficult task, in part as a result of the challenging history of free expression in the United States. The difficulty is compounded by the need to teach the topic, in contrast to indoctrinating the students in an ideology of free speech. The Bill of Rights, and specifically the First Amendment, appear simple and clear, but they are not as transparent as some have suggested. The First Amendment has been hard to interpret from its inception, and its meaning continues to evolve through numerous court cases. Despite claims to the contrary, American society has frequently failed to demonstrate a commitment to freedom of expression. Considering the sporadic and inconsistent history of free expression in America, teaching such a history is arduous. In light of this context, teachers of free expression must avoid the temptation to ground freedom of speech solely in historical claims. Laws such as the First Amendment can be reinterpreted by… [PDF]
(1986). When World Views Collide: Journalists and the Great Monkey Trial. The Scopes trial of 1925 drew many reporters to Dayton, Tennessee, to report on what they expected would be the final blow to ignorant fundamentalism. They came with many preconceived notions about Dayton, the people of Dayton, William Jennings Bryan, and creationism. Close examination of pretrial, trial, and posttrial coverage in eight newspapers–the "New York Times,""New York American,""Chicago Tribune,""Washington Post,""Baltimore Sun,""Los Angeles Times,""Arkansas Gazette," and "Atlanta Constitution"–revealed that most reporters presupposed evolution as a scientific fact, the residents of Dayton as ignorant, and the Bible as highly errant. In reality, pro-evolution books were readily available in Dayton, while the key issue in the trial for Tennesseans was not free speech, but rather parental control over school curricula. The anti-evolution bill was seen as a way to forbid proselytizing for an as… [PDF]
(1985). The Canadian Charter of Rights, American Jurisprudence, and Canadian Civil Libel Law: Will There Be an Occasion for Dancing in Canadian Streets?. The new and immense task that awaits the judiciary of Canada is to decide what limitations, if any, ought to be imposed upon freedom of expression as protected in the new Canadian Constitution with an entrenched Charter of Rights. The area of civil libel law provides special problems related to free speech and press. One source of help for scholars, lawyers, and judges struggling with this problem is the thinking of the American philosopher, Alexander Meiklejohn. His view is that the First Amendment was meant to protect political speech. Thus, he heralded the United States Supreme Court decision in "New York Times vs. Sullivan" as "an occasion for dancing in the streets." It is questionable, however, whether the Canadian courts will accept this theory of self-government and its idea of what is reasonable. Ultimately, the decision rests on how much of a departure from the past the Charter represents. The original purpose of the Canadian system was to provide…
(1977). Comprehension Strategies in Two and Three-Year-Olds: Animate Agents or Probable Events? Papers and Reports on Child Language Development, No. 13. A study was conducted to determine whether children give evidence of using any of six comprehension strategies and whether children of same and different ages use different strategies. It was studied how comprehension performance can best be predicted by other facts about the child, including his language and his language input. The six comprehension strategies are: child as agent, probable event, animate noun as agent, relative object size, position bias, and word order. Of particular interest is whether the \animate agent\ strategy can be shown to exist rather than the competing explanations of \relative object\ size preference or, for some sentences, a judgment that the animate toy as agent is simply the more \probable event.\ Twenty-five children, eight aged 24-25 months, 10 aged 30-32 months, and seven aged 36-44 months, were studied in two to five 30-minute testing sessions in a small playroom with the mother present. Free speech samples for mother and child during free play,…