FOCUS: P.C., PART II

Those who consider themselves P.C. say those who portray the trend as totalitarian or reminiscent of McCarthyism are reactionary conservatives who don't like rising public sentiment for liberal politics. The two PSA members said last week that the group opposing P.C. is mainly made up of white men. Saries also said the movement against P.C. is a backlash by the people who have historically had the freedom to talk. Braxton said she thinks the opposition is from people who have never been forced to think about the implications of their language. "They feel like it is such a pain in the butt to have to think before you speak," Braxton said. "[Whites] have the luxury of not having a label. They are not a minority in this country. Any label that is given to them is not stigmatizing." The opposition, some of whom call themselves liberal politically, said the sentiment embodied by P.C. doesn't bother them, but forced compliance does. Some go as far as comparing P.C. to "thought police." Anthony Tomazinis, a professor in City and Regional Planning, called the trend "very dangerous." "[P.C. people] were the ones who were fighting for freedom. Now they are the masters and they don't want anyone to think anything other than what they think," Tomazinis noted. "What an irony." Wharton senior Bret Kinsella, former president of the Interfraternity Council, said that P.C. is not productive because it assumes a certain set of values are correct for everyone. The result, he said, can be the quelling of free speech. "There is something fundamentally wrong with calling something Politically Correct," Kinsella said. "[It discusses] a certain set of values people hold very dear. You can't criticize those values without treading upon democracy itself." The National Association of Scholars has received significant press coverage for its objections to what it says are the limits P.C. advocates often place on free speech. At least 13 University affiliates, including University President Emeritus Martin Meyerson, are members, officials at the organization said last week. But objectors and advocates alike agree that P.C. is having an impact on academics. Professors are forced to watch their speech carefully, Kors said. "There is a climate of intimidation . . . I wish [professors] would speak up," Kors said. "Unfortunately professors that do feel intimidated are afraid to speak up for the very same reasons they are intimidated." And College senior Simmonds said she is worried about the impact of P.C. on academics. "Some people would like to stifle research that talks about biological differences between the sexes," Simmonds said. "It might be P.C., but it is certainly not intellectual." The movement for increased sensitivity is good, Simmonds said, but she -- like those against the P.C. movement -- is concerned that the result is a lack of dialogue. She said, for example that many feminists find it contradictory for Simmonds to consider herself both pro-life and a feminist. "The women's movement right now is becoming very reactionary and losing perspective," Simmonds said. "[Some feminists] are intolerant of different views." But Simmonds said she feels the opposition to the P.C. movement is guilty of an unwillingness to listen openly also. "A lot of the people do not seem to be able to listen to other people's views," Simmonds said. "[Opposition to P.C.] is very reactionary and kneejerk." Simmonds said she thinks the answer is dialogue on both sides. "It is not for a bunch of 'liberal' people to decide what is okay and what is not," Simmonds said. "Semantics are important but concern for that has to come from something deeper." DiLapi expressed concern that others view P.C. as an issue about free speech. "The thing that disturbs me is that it might become about a rigid definition of what people can and can't do," she said. And Moss said that "the way that it is handled shouldn't [limit speech], but in reality it sometimes does and that is unfortunate." And, in the classroom, where language is vital, P.C. is becoming more and more prevalent. Moss said that her English professor, Cary Mazer, has required his students to write papers free of sexist language. "Having to use P.C. language is like a learning experience," Moss said. "I think it is nifty. I'm really excited." Some students took issue with the huge media interest in the trend and said the coverage has been overdone. Braxton also took issue with the impression the national media has given that P.C. is a "broad movement sweeping across nation." "Maybe it is broad," Braxton said, "but they made it sound very threatening and I never thought of it like that." Braxton also said she thinks the word has been used no more than any other new term is used. And Tomazinis predicted the trend will end soon. "It will die out," he said. "[It is ] so overused, so pathetic it will die out. I don't see multitudes of students accepting limitations of what they can think. So many other totalitarian tendencies have been in the same vein."

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