Barry Outside 'Free Speech Zone'; Philosopher Offended
Just when you the water-buffalo-as-racial-epithet and "campus free speech zones" days were over, comes this absurd story from FIRE . Apparently, Marquette University finds Dave Barry's libertarianism "offensive":
That's right: Even all-American humorist Dave Barry is subject to censorship on our nation's college campuses, as Ph.D. student Stuart Ditsler found out last fall.Ditsler didn't think he was doing anything objectionable by posting a Dave Barry quote on his office door last October—but James South, the head of Marquette's philosophy department, thought differently.The Barry quote posted by Ditsler read, "As Americans we must always remember that we all have a common enemy, an enemy that is dangerous, powerful and relentless. I refer, of course, to the federal government."Within days, South deemed the quote "patently offensive" and removed it from Ditsler's office door, stating that "while I am a strong supporter of academic freedom, I'm afraid that hallways and office doors are not 'free-speech zones.'" (Ironically, campus censors love to preface their censorship with a declaration of their commitment to free expression.)
