henry_palmer24•17d agoMost Upvoted

Dean canceled the scheduled hate speech debate last minute

I was in the auditorium at Ohio State last week. 50 students showed up for a debate on campus hate speech rules. Dean walks in and says it's off because 'tensions are high.' Just let us talk it out. Has anyone else had their event shut down without warning?

2 comments

2 Comments

jackson.jenny17d agoMost Upvoted

Had a similar thing happen at a club meeting I organized last semester. We booked a room for a discussion on free speech vs. safe spaces. Two hours before, the admin cancelled it because they "needed to review the materials." The materials were just a printed list of debate questions. I ended up awkwardly emailing everyone the questions and telling them to argue in the group chat. At least nobody got yelled at by the dean that way, just a few heated emoji reactions. Sometimes I wonder if the word "debate" just scares administrators into a cold sweat.

fiona_sullivan2917d ago

Honestly, I used to roll my eyes at people who complained about admin overreach. I figured they were just being dramatic or didn't understand the rules. But reading stuff like this, it's hard to argue. Cancelling a room over a list of debate questions two hours before is just ridiculous. It feels like they're more afraid of the idea of a disagreement than actually handling one. That group chat solution was smart, but you shouldn't have to work around the people who are supposed to help you.