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US College Students Choose Diversity Over Free Speech

时间:2018-04-15 16:23:12

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(单词翻译)

 

Paula Molina-Acosta’s concerns for her own safety on her college campus first started to grow over a year ago.

Molina-Acosta studies at the University of Maryland, or UMD, in College Park, Maryland. In the fall of 2016, students began seeing the words “Build the Wall” written around the school grounds. This was a term then-presidential candidate Donald Trump1 used during the 2016 election to discuss security on the United States-Mexico border. Molina-Acosta, who was born in Colombia, South America, says for students like her the words feel like a threat.

Then in March 2017, a student reported seeing a noose2 hanging in the official housing of one of the school’s social organizations. Nooses3 have historically been used as weapons against African Americans, and are still seen as a symbol of racial violence.

Two months later, an African American student visiting from Bowie State University was murdered on the UMD campus. A white UMD student suspected of the attack now faces charges of a hate crime.

In light of these events, Molina-Acosta says she wants her school to do more to limit speech and actions she says are hateful. The challenge, she notes, is balancing these limits with the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment4, which protects Americans’ right to speak freely.

“We all have a right to…write or say what we want to, as long as it doesn’t incite5 violence,” Molina-Acosta told VOA. “And, of course that right has to be protected. But at the same time, ideologies6 like that are…tied to…racism…which is connected to inciting7 violence.”

Diversity vs. free speech

A new study looks at exactly the issues Molina-Acosta is weighing. The study finds that a majority of today’s college students in the U.S. value diversity more than protecting free speech.

The study, released in March, is a shared effort from the research company Gallup and the non-profit organization the Knight8 Foundation. In 2017, the two groups asked over 3,000 college students from across the country about how much they valued diversity and free speech.

One major question was: “If you had to choose, which do you think is more important?” About 53 percent of surveyed students chose “a diverse and inclusive society” over “protecting free speech rights.”

Brandon Busteed is the executive director for education and workforce9 development at Gallup. He offers a number of reasons why students may value diversity over free speech. For one, the college student population in the U.S. has become increasingly diverse. Busteed points out that the majority of white students chose free speech over diversity.

However, Busteed argues that the preference for diversity over free speech is not the only important point to come from this study. He notes that 56 percent of the surveyed students feel that protecting free speech is important to a democracy. And 52 percent say the same about including and protecting different kinds of people.

So it is not like college students today place little value on free speech, Busteed says. But in some situations, students might feel they have to choose between the two.

“If you look at the questions we asked about them independently, they value both of them very highly,” he said. “But…if you value inclusivity and diversity, and somebody is saying hate speech about, let’s say African Americans students…now you’ve got two things you believe in that are in…conflict with one another.”

Free speech versus10 political correctness

Still, Nico Perrino finds the results of this study troubling. He is the director of communications for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which fights to protect free speech on college campuses.

Perrino says the movement to defend free speech has long been challenged by another movement: political correctness. The term relates to the belief that words or ideas minority groups might feel are insulting or discriminatory should be avoided. Critics of political correctness say efforts not to offend can be carried too far.

Many American college students identified with the politically correct, or PC, movement back in the 1990s, says Perrino. But he says the rise of groups like Black Lives Matter has brought renewed attention to it. The group campaigns on issues such as police violence against African Americans, as well as equality and understanding of the African American experience.

Perrino argues it is the job of universities to welcome all kinds of ideas, especially ones that some people might find problematic. Otherwise students may not be able to fully11 examine those ideas and possibly solve the problems surrounding them.

Also, diversity not only means including different races and ethnicities. It means accepting people who think differently from you, he says.

Perrino says he has no problem with debating or peacefully protesting. But he worries that limiting hate speech may become a form of violence itself. What is more, he says, trying to silence speakers who express hateful views may accidentally result in supporting them.

For example, Milo Yiannopoulos is a writer known for supporting ideas that many find offensive. In his speaking and writing, he has attacked Muslims, feminists12, people whose appearance he does not like, and many others. In February 2017, he was supposed to hold an event at the University of California, Berkeley, but the event was cancelled following violent protests. In the weeks after, Yiannopoulos’s book became the top seller on the website Amazon.

Perrino says students must understand that the U.S. Supreme13 Court has never provided a legal definition of hate speech. Therefore schools cannot limit a person’s speech, even if it makes another person feel unsafe. And that is with good reason, he says.

“The reason…is…the question ‘Who decides?’” Perrino said. “Who decides what speech is allowed and who decides what speech is not allowed?’ In the era of Donald Trump, if you asked he and his administration to define what hate speech would be, my suspicion is it would be groups like Black Lives Matter. It would not be, for example, the Milo Yiannopouloses of the world.”

Paula Molina-Acosta of UMD agrees that open discussion between people who hold opposing beliefs is important, and violence is never the answer. Given the choice, she says protecting free speech is more important than diversity.

But Molina-Acosta does wonder if there is middle ground between the two sides of the issue. She admits that students may not be fully right in their aim of banning everything they consider to be hate speech. After all, she is only 19 years old and does not have all the answers, she says. But she also believes the next time someone draws an image related to Nazism14, as was the case at UMD last October, university officials should take action.

I’m Pete Musto.

And I’m Dorothy Gundy.

Words in This Story

campus – n. the area and buildings around a university, college, or school

noose – n. a large loop at the end of a rope that gets smaller when you pull the rope and that is used to hang people or to capture animals

symbol – n. an action, object, or event that expresses or represents a particular idea or quality

challenge – n. a difficult task or problem

diversity – n. the state of having people who are different races or who have different cultures in a group or organization

survey(ed) – v. to ask many people a question or a series of questions in order to gather information about what most people do or think about something

preference – n. a feeling of liking15 or wanting one person or thing more than another person or thing

feminist(s) – n. people who believe that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities

allow(ed) – v. to permit something

era – n. a period of time that is associated with a particular quality, event, or person

draw(s) – v. to make a picture or image by making lines on a surface especially with a pencil, pen, marker, or chalk, but not usually with paint


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 trump LU1zK     
n.王牌,法宝;v.打出王牌,吹喇叭
参考例句:
  • He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
  • The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手,作为他的王牌。
2 noose 65Zzd     
n.绳套,绞索(刑);v.用套索捉;使落入圈套;处以绞刑
参考例句:
  • They tied a noose round her neck.他们在她脖子上系了一个活扣。
  • A hangman's noose had already been placed around his neck.一个绞刑的绳圈已经套在他的脖子上。
3 nooses f33cc37ab446f0bb9a42dcd2fb68db8c     
n.绞索,套索( noose的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Now I must prepare the nooses and the rope to lash him alongside, he thought. 现在我得准备好套索和绳子,把它绑在船边,他想。 来自英汉文学 - 老人与海
  • The nooses are no prank. We were lynched, we were murdered. 这些绳套不是恶作剧。我们被处以了私刑,我们被谋杀了。 来自互联网
4 amendment Mx8zY     
n.改正,修正,改善,修正案
参考例句:
  • The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
  • The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。
5 incite kx4yv     
v.引起,激动,煽动
参考例句:
  • I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家,非常会调动群众的情绪。
  • Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将,就会干。
6 ideologies 619df0528e07e84f318a32708414df52     
n.思想(体系)( ideology的名词复数 );思想意识;意识形态;观念形态
参考例句:
  • There is no fundamental diversity between the two ideologies. 这两种思想意识之间并没有根本的分歧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Radical ideologies require to contrast to their own goodness the wickedness of some other system. 凡是过激的意识形态,都需要有另外一个丑恶的制度作对比,才能衬托出自己的善良。 来自辞典例句
7 inciting 400c07a996057ecbd0e695a596404e52     
刺激的,煽动的
参考例句:
  • What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
  • He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。
8 knight W2Hxk     
n.骑士,武士;爵士
参考例句:
  • He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
  • A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。
9 workforce workforce     
n.劳动大军,劳动力
参考例句:
  • A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
  • A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。
10 versus wi7wU     
prep.以…为对手,对;与…相比之下
参考例句:
  • The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
  • The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。
11 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
12 feminists ef6993909ee3f0b8d1e79a268168539d     
n.男女平等主义者,女权扩张论者( feminist的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Only 16 percent of young women in a 1990 survey considered themselves feminists. 在1990年的一项调查中,只有16%的年轻女性认为自己是女权主义者。 来自辞典例句
  • The organization had many enemies, most notably among feminists. 这个组织有许多敌人,特别是在男女平等主义者中。 来自辞典例句
13 supreme PHqzc     
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的
参考例句:
  • It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
  • He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
14 Nazism onPzAk     
n. 纳粹主义
参考例句:
  • His philosophical eyes were obviously shortsighted by the evil influence of Nazism. 显然,他那双哲学家般的深邃的眼睛也被纳粹的妖氛所眩惑。 来自中国文学部分
  • Nazism suppressed all three movements as degenerate. 纳粹把所有三个运动都作为颓废艺术而加以镇压。
15 liking mpXzQ5     
n.爱好;嗜好;喜欢
参考例句:
  • The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
  • I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

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