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Debate at University of Wisconsin a Success
On Wednesday night, FIREPresident Greg Lukianoff debated University of Wisconsin Professor Howard Schweber on 鈥淧olitical Correctness, Academic Speech, and Free Speech on Campus鈥 at the University of Wisconsin鈥揗adison.
The Badger Herald that the debate went very well. Greg came to the defense of free speech鈥攅ven when the expressive form of the speech might be found offensive. Prof. Schweber posited that while all viewpoints are welcome, some forms of speech are unacceptable. He distinguished, for example, between 鈥渇*ck you鈥 and 鈥渇*ck the draft.鈥 Greg argued that if you give administrators the power to police speech they deem 鈥渋mpolite,鈥 you will likely discover that they only punish points of view with which they disagree. Greg cited numerous FIREcases to debunk the idea that colleges should be imbued with the power to censor in the name of propriety, civility, or politeness, pointing out that these are often simply excuses for viewpoint discrimination.
Ann Althouse, a professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School, provides a nice of the debate on her .
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