When Is a Code Narrow? (Fred Speaking)
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Narrow codes? Maybe. But think about it. Is there really such a thing as a narrow code? On paper there is. I understand that. But there are at least two problems that concern me.

• Even a code that is narrow on paper has effects on people that go way beyond what it says. There is already too much pressure to be politically correct on this campus. A speech code, even a narrow one, will just add to the pressure.
  
  
• Even a narrow code concedes to the administration the power to ban ideas deemed bad. Do we want that precedent?
  

We should consider the actual effects of a code and not just the way it is written or intended. Does it chill discussion of important issues? Does it reinforce an ideological orthodoxy? Will it be expanded over the years in ways we cannot predict or control?

And I want to stress that the code we have is NOT narrow. It covers twelve different kinds of speech and I predict that it will send a chill through the entire campus community, including classroom discussion.

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