Will Codes Work? (Fred Speaking)
		Comment				MAIN PATH: Malik
						Malik

We don't know that anything you said is true. It might turn out as you say; but it may also turn out very differently.

• You say the code symbolizes the commitment of the university to fight racism. Does it? Maybe the code is just a cheap way for the university to pacify the state legislature and make it look as though they are concerned about racism. What makes you so sure of your interpretation?
  

• You say the code sends a message to students that racism is wrong. Maybe. But another possibility is that it sends a message that the university favors some students over others or that if you have political clout you can punish other people for saying what you don't want them to say. We don't know what the message is until we ask the listener what he 'heard.' I doubt whether you have asked anyone what message the code sends to them. Have you? I think what you are really talking about is the message you hope it sends. That's very different.
  

• You say the code will improve educational opportunities for African American students and reduce racist incidents on campus. Again, maybe it will; but we can only know that after the code has been in effect for several years.
  

• You say that the code, along with sensitivity training, will make students more respectful of cultural differences. Again, we won't know that for years. It is just as possible that a code might reduce sensitivity and respect for others. Assume for a moment that a white student is punished under this code for saying something insulting to a black student. Don't you think it is at least possible that such a student will have his racist attitudes confirmed and hardened by the punishment? Do you honestly think that a student who is expelled from this school is going to be reformed by the experience?

I don't know how the code will work or what its results will be. The point is that we don't know the consequences. If you support a code, you should do so in the full knowledge that you can't predict the consequences. Stop talking as though you can.

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