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Lawrence University: We can鈥檛 take a joke
- Lawrence University鈥檚 student government denied group recognition to a free speech club after it screened a documentary about free speech in comedy.
- FIRE calls on the Lawrence administration to stand behind its promise to students of free expression 鈥渨ithout fear of censorship or retaliation.鈥
APPLETON, Wis., May 24, 2017 鈥 Can Lawrence University take a joke? Apparently not.
On Monday, the university鈥檚 student government denied recognition to a student group after it hosted an event where it showed 鈥Can We Take a Joke?,鈥 a documentary on free speech in comedy. Yesterday, Lawrence President Mark Burstein sent a campus-wide email saying that he had found the days since the event 鈥減ainful,鈥 noting that 鈥渟ome used the forum to make statements that were hurtful and built on ugly stereotypes,鈥 and thanking the student government for its 鈥渃areful analysis鈥 in denying recognition to what he referred to as 鈥渁 group of students calling themselves FIREfor Free Thought.鈥
Student newspaper The Lawrentian that 鈥渕any students voiced concerns about the content of the movie,鈥 which the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) helped produce and that has the tagline, 鈥淲hen outrage and comedy collide.鈥 One student remarked that the movie, which tells the story of legendary comedian Lenny Bruce and features comedians including Penn Jillette, Adam Carolla, Lisa Lampanelli, and Gilbert Gottfried, contained 鈥渁 lot of strategic triggering material.鈥 The paper also noted that the screening had to be temporarily halted halfway through after 鈥渁 heated dispute broke out in the audience.鈥
鈥淭here could hardly be a better illustration of the point 鈥楥an We Take a Joke?鈥 made about the effect of outrage culture on free speech than what happened at Lawrence University,鈥 said FIREExecutive Director Robert Shibley. 鈥淲hen first screened for the general public at the DOC NYC film festival in November 2015, the movie was met with laughter and applause. But students and administrators at Lawrence University, which explicitly promises free speech to its students, were happy to cite it when denying recognition to a student group that has 鈥榝ree thought鈥 in its very name.鈥
Lawrence is a private institution and not bound by the First Amendment. However, it is obligated to keep its that 鈥渕embers of the Lawrence community are free to engage in, speak on, and write about scholarly research and creative activity without fear of censorship or retaliation.鈥
The president of the Lawrence University Community Council, the school鈥檚 student government, announced the decision to deny FIREfor Free Thought official recognition on Monday, explaining that the council was 鈥渃oncerned about the well-being of [the] campus at large鈥 and didn鈥檛 believe the group would 鈥渉ave a positive impact.鈥
The student government cited additional concerns about the group鈥檚 anonymous membership, alleged similarity to existing groups, membership criteria, and mission statement. The group also allegedly declined to pursue 鈥渃ollaboration with other groups, campus outreach to find new and inclusive membership, and finding a neutral moderator.鈥
However, the 鈥檚 鈥淩egulations Regarding Lawrence University organizations鈥 does not outline these requirements for prospective student groups. These apparently new or unpublished requirements are subjective and rely on the student government鈥檚 interpretation of the group鈥檚 purpose and mission. It is unclear whether they have been required of other prospective groups.
FIRE will continue to investigate the situation and will provide further updates as events warrant.
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending liberty, freedom of speech, due process, academic freedom, legal equality, and freedom of conscience on America鈥檚 college campuses.
CONTACT:
Daniel Burnett, Communications Manager, 果冻传媒app官方: 215-717-3473; media@thefire.org
Mark Burstein, President, Lawrence University: 920-832-6525; mark.burstein@lawrence.edu
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