The University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill College Libertarians
The Heckler’s Veto: Another
Blow for Freedom of Speech at Carolina
June 23, 2011
Well, this is embarrassing.
The University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) has surrendered to the “heckler’s veto” by
revoking Professor Emeritus Elliot Cramer’s network access following
outside complaints about a link on his website to an organization that
advocates for animal welfare. Despite telling the complaining individual that
the dispute was “not a University matter” and that the university did not
monitor the content of websites maintained by professors, UNC nevertheless
demanded that Cramer remove the link from his website and later canceled his
network access entirely. Cramer came to the Foundation for Individual Rights in
Education (FIRE) for help.
Elliot Cramer — Remember
him? He was the adviser for Carolina’s chapter of Youth for Western Civilization, a group
devoted to “Western” values and against multiculturalism. In the
context of Tom
Tancredo Part II, someone had put up a flier around campus with
Cramer’s home address claiming that the YWC adviser was “supporting white
supremacy.”
When then-chapter-president Nikhil
Patel alerted Cramer to the fliers, Cramer responded:
Thanks for your concern;
I have a Colt 45 and I know how to use it. I used to be able to hit a
quarter at 50 feet 7 times ouf of
10
In response to the e-mail, UNC
Chancellor Holden Thorpe asked Cramer to step down from his position as adviser
to YWC.
And now, his network access has been
revoked because an outside party complained about a link that Cramer posted to
an animal rights organization.
As the Foundation
for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) puts it, UNC has surrendered to
the Heckler’s Veto.
Read all the details over
at FIRE’s website. (By the way, FIRE rates UNC as a “yellow light”
institution, meaning that we have some restrictive speech policies. Find out why)
This is our institution’s commitment
to an open environment and freedom of expression? Anyone who complains
enough — even if they are not a part of the Carolina community(!)
— can get you kicked off the network. It’s difficult to “enhance access to learning and to
foster the success and prosperity of each rising generation” when you have
to tailor your expression to avoid offending anyone. Literally anyone —
not even just members of the university.
Hopefully no one complains about
this blog post – Holden might revoke our
university recognition!
Make sure to tell Chancellor Thorpe
how you feel: 919-962-1365; chancellor@unc.edu