Students want to defund newspaper because of op-ed critical of BLM

[Green Line]

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5602f1efe4b0fde8b0d0f40d

A student newspaper at Weslyan University ran an op ed critical of some aspects of the Black Lives Matter momement. Now students are circulating a petition to shut the newspaper down. The newspaper has unfortunately already partially backed down and apologized for the op ed, but thats not enough apparently. Freedom of speech isnt such a big deal anymore I guess.

[Mr. Reactionary]

Totally thought this was about the Bureau of Land Management.

[The Free North]

American liberalism: 'free speech so long as I agree with what you have to say'


How far the mighty have fallen.

[Clark Kent]

I live in the same city. Why have I not heard of this?

[Bigby]

And this is one reason why I am not a leftist. This kind of Orwellian drive to silence opposition would drain my soul of human decency.

[Crumpets]

Isn't this just the free market at work? Nobody is going to jail. Somebody said something others don't like, and they want to prevent their tuition money going to fund it. Isn't that a conservative capitalist dream?

[Hydera]

Isn't this just the free market at work? Nobody is going to jail. Somebody said something others don't like, and they want to prevent their tuition money going to fund it. Isn't that a conservative capitalist dream?

Nobody is complaining about it, just the absurdity.

Which BLM has a lot of.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

i mean idk about shutting it down, but running an op-ed that lies literally in the second paragraph suggests it's kind of a shıtty newspaper

[Antonio the Sixth]

Isn't this just the free market at work? Nobody is going to jail. Somebody said something others don't like, and they want to prevent their tuition money going to fund it. Isn't that a conservative capitalist dream?

Exactly. Right-wingers whining about muh free speech are a joke.

[Figueira]

Yeah, I personally think that allowing ridiculous op-eds like that is kind of the point of newspapers, so I would not want to defund it if I were a student there.

[Bigby]

Yeah, I personally think that allowing ridiculous op-eds like that is kind of the point of newspapers, so I would not want to defund it if I were a student there.

That makes you a decent human being, so you'd make a horrible student activist.

[Figueira]

Yeah, I personally think that allowing ridiculous op-eds like that is kind of the point of newspapers, so I would not want to defund it if I were a student there.

That makes you a decent human being, so you'd make a horrible student activist.

I am a student activist, but I don't agree with these particular student activists on this particular issue.

Edit: to clarify, I support BLM, but I disagree that newspapers should be defunded over this. Now if the op-ed was openly racist they would have a point, but I read the op-ed and I didn't see anything that bad.

[Figueira]

Actually, reading the huffpost article again, they don't seem to be saying that they need to get rid of the article; they're just saying that they need to provide a space for marginalized groups' views, which sounds reasonable.

And lol at the parodists implying that Republicans are a marginalized group.

[SteveRogers]

Again, SJWs are the enemy of mankind. They are communists.

These ones are just dumb college students. 19 year old right wingers say things that are just as dumb. This is why we don't let 19 year olds run the government. They'll grow out of it.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

Again, SJWs are the enemy of mankind. They are communists.

((says the putin supporter))

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Again, SJWs are the enemy of mankind. They are communists.

Err, personkind pls.

[Roemerista]

Why should the school fund a student newspaper? If it can't sell ads, it isn't worth printing.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

Again, SJWs are the enemy of mankind. They are communists.

((says the putin supporter))

I don't "support" any world leader, except maybe Orban for trying to protect his country's borders.

even better

[Zioneer]

Again, SJWs are the enemy of mankind. They are communists.

((says the putin supporter))

I don't "support" any world leader, except maybe Orban for trying to protect his country's borders.

So Putin's fellow authoritarian. Good to know.

[Simfan34]

Actually, reading the huffpost article again, they don't seem to be saying that they need to get rid of the article; they're just saying that they need to provide a space for marginalized groups' views, which sounds reasonable.

And lol at the parodists implying that Republicans are a marginalized group.

Obama is a parodist?

[SWE]

American liberalism: 'free speech so long as I agree with what you have to say'

Does signing a petition not fall under free speech?

[Green Line]

American liberalism: 'free speech so long as I agree with what you have to say'

Foes signing a petition not fall under free speech?

They should take the points made in the article and argue against them if they disagree so much, not try to silence opposition.  They may disagree with the op-ed but it wasn't written in a hostile way and made some fair points.  If they succeed in this it will discourage other people from speaking their mind. Universities shouldn't be an echo chamber of liberal ideals.  It's a slippery slope

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Isn't this just the free market at work? Nobody is going to jail. Somebody said something others don't like, and they want to prevent their tuition money going to fund it. Isn't that a conservative capitalist dream?

This is complete nonsense. College is meant to be an opening of ideas. You don't get to say where your tuition money goes. It's obviously critical for the school to fund this type of outlet. If they want to accept such close minded people who won't be contributing to the endowment as a result of this, then yes the school is harmed as a result of this, but I'm pretty sure the school would be better off avoiding letting close minded people into their institution all together as they likely lack the critical thinking skills necessarily to go very far in life and help the school make meaningful strides (alas, the population with critical thinking abilities is sadly too small, but the point stands.)

[Figueira]

I'd like to point out that while this certainly has nothing to do with Free Speech as a constitutional concept, it makes sense that someone who believes in "free speech" as a value would want to allow dissenting views in newspapers.

And I was talking about the parody at the end of the Huffpost article.

[Cubby]

Totally thought this was about the Bureau of Land Management.

That's what I think every time I see the acronym BLM.

I have nothing against Black Lives Matter, in fact their opponents sicken me, but they shouldn't be referred to as BLM, that name is already taken by the Bureau of Land Management. They're doing good work in Boundary Waters Canoe, Frank Church River of No Return and many other forests primeval.