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Summary Of Feigning Free Speech On Campus By Greg Lukianoff

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“Feigning Free Speech on Campus” is a 2012 op-ed article written by Greg Lukianoff, an attorney with a passion for First Amendment Rights. Lukianoff brings up points that are just as valid today as they were 4 years ago. Youth voter participation is low and it is impossible to ignore the effects of educational institutions hampering inquiry and expression of the students. The main claim to this issue is not simply that colleges engage in some degree of free speech repression, but that the methods implied on campuses are no less that any other institution that controls and influences public awareness of political issues. Lukianoff is successful and effective in his appeal to his target audience of young adults. Ethos, pathos, and logos are well …show more content…

The use of ‘bastions of unbridled inquiry and expression’ (774) creates an image of a fortified and well-defended area that in this case was a safe place to explore possibilities and voice one's opinions. To have in the same sentence ‘..repress free speech as any other institution in young people’s lives’ Immediately takes what may have looked like something promising and turns it into yet another governed establishment that is more interested in total compliance than individual creativity. Speech codes were birthed in the 1980s as the result of ‘political correctness’ melding with the concerns of the somewhat controversial ‘nonfaculty campus administrators.’ Lukianoff’s explanation about why these stringent codes violate the constitutional right to freedom of speech is sharply defined with the phrase ‘...well intended but, outside of the ivory tower…’ (774) Ivory tower meaning a state of seclusion from the facts of the real world. In paragraph seven, elite colleges have ‘Orwellian speech codes so vague and broad they would never pass constitutional muster.” (775) This ties back into the concept of an ivory tower of seclusion from reality. While not defined directly, the definition of Orwellian is inferred by the example in the same paragraph describing Harvard campus officials pressuring freshman to sign an oath, affirming that ‘kindness holds a place on par with intellectual attainment.’ Former Dean Harry R. Lewis voiced his disapproval in his statement “For Harvard to ‘invite’ people to pledge to kindness is unwise, and sets a terrible precedent. It is a promise to control one’s thoughts.” It is logical to conclude that Orwellian speech codes or anything else for that matter are not something to strive towards. References to Orwell or Orwellian is a fairly well-known buzzword in terms of things

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