COLUMN: McRights: Liberty to Go

From Stephen Glass's "Enemy of the People," Fall '93 From Stephen Glass's "Enemy of the People," Fall '93 A simple sign hangs in the bathroom of McDonald's: "Employees must wash hands before returning to work." Unfortunately, in recent days, some students on campus are working day and night to force your hands under the water. In many ways the University is very much like McDonald's, Ford or IBM. While those companies churn out hamburgers, cars and computers, the University produces diplomas. More precisely, the University sells the opportunity to earn a diploma. And like any other company the University is divided into two major camps: the client and the business. While the faculty, staff and administrators can all be classified as employees of the University's trustees. Students can not. Simply stated, students pay tuition, they are not paid. While McDonald's would certainly love it if all of their customers were tidy and cleaned before each meal, they do not interfere where they have no business. Unfortunately, some students have forgotten on which side of the counter they belong. Proponents of keeping Section II of the Racial Harassment Policy – the "speech code," don't deny it – note that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is considering requiring a speech code for all equal opportunity employers. Therefore, the University would be required to have a speech code for its employees. These students then note that it would be logical to impose the same restrictions on the entire campus, including students. They must have gotten their reasoning from a Happy Meal. No customer is required to wash their hands before they eat their french fries. Likewise, no customer at the University should be required to adhere to policies established for the employees. In fact, the University even has established separate systems to deal with infractions of University policy. When Veterinary School Professor Robert Whitlock copied another professors study on cattle diarrhea, he was not hauled before the Judicial Inquiry Office, rather he was heard by a panel of his peers under the Just Cause policy. When students were caught cheating in History Professor Bruce Kuklick's class, they were not slapped on the wrist by their peers as was Whitlock, rather they went directly to the JIO. Other discrepancies exist as well. But despite an almost mythic attachment to the "One University" concept, no one is clamoring to universalize these University policies. We do not see student admissions freeze nor do we eliminate student posts at the University through attrition and retirement. Students are not demanding better health benefits and complaining that non-unionized workers were employed during a museum construction project. Students are not employees. They do not have the same interests as employees and can not be viewed as such. Certainly, someone is going to write a letter noting that restrictions on customers, such as the common "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service" policy, can be imposed. The difference is simple. Customers who do not wear a shirt or shoes cause an imminent health threat to fellow customers. And likewise firing a machine gun at random on Locust Walk would also pose an immediate health risk and should not be tolerated. No matter how many "psychic injuries" one claims to have suffered, even hateful speech does not pose an immediate health threat. Fortunately, top University administrators have said that they will not allow a potential decision by a federal body to dictate a pressing University policy. Of course, if former President Sheldon Hackney also decided to take this course of action, ROTC would no longer be on campus. But the most troubling facet of this situation is that students are actually seeking to give up their rights. These students are asking the administration to assume responsibility for their liberty. And when one no longer looks to maximize their own freedom, then they are truly no longer free. Because without our rights firmly in place, someone will always be there to thrust your hand under the faucet. Stephen Glass is a senior Anthropology major from Highland Park, Illinois and the Executive Editor of the Daily Pennsylvanian. Enemy of the People appears alternate Wednesdays.