COLUMN: Liberty and justice for all

From Kristopher Couch's, "Nothing But The Truth," Fall '96 From Kristopher Couch's, "Nothing But The Truth," Fall '96 A few years ago, I told another college student that I hold conservative beliefs. In response, he promptly informed me that I was, in fact, a "bigot." But I wasn't offended. I was thankful; he had weakened his own argument. I arrived at Penn on the edge of the Sheldon Hackney-water buffalo era. Since then, the University has made a sincere effort to shrug off the "poison ivy" label. Many students have come to campus since the dreaded speech code fell, and it is for them that I write my final DP column. The speech code "boulder" may have been removed, but jagged rocks continue to block the way to true freedom of speech here. If there is one last idea I can impart before graduating, it is that in Penn's attempt to establish itself as a truly great university, one element must never be forgotten, even in the '90s: Liberty. There has been a profound shift in what constitutes "free speech" since the '60s. Freedoms have been pushed to the background, now that the members of the counterculture have joined the establishment they used to revolted against. We face a curriculum that attempts to enlighten students and explain to them "correct" political views. Understanding that education goes beyond the classroom, politically correct administrations have extended their authority into the extracurricular and private lives of students as well. Glaring examples of this injustice arise everyday, as universities seek to define what is "required" learning, what organizations students can join and what is diverse, among a myriad of other politically motivated concepts. Double standards abound here. At Princeton University, for example, a Roman Catholic student was offended by an explicit sexual education session. She wanted to leave, but a residential advisor blocked the door. How is this "respect for others," which Princeton highlights in its Rights, Rules and Responsibilities student conduct handbook? Also at Princeton, a couple of students were told not to apply to be RAs because of their association with College Republicans or a campus religious group. How is this "tolerance of behavior?" Lest you think these incidents are limited to our neighbor institution in New Jersey, a few years ago, Penn's speech code -- which defined and enforced one group's political agenda -- represented the way to punish the "bigot," the "racist" and the "sexist" among us. The speech code may be gone now, but the double standard of limited freedom continues to surface. Take, for example, the removal of funds from The Red and Blue two years ago, based on its "disagreeable" political content. Likewise, remember the uproar in response to last year's pro-life advertising insert DP? How many of you see the double standard in the denial of tenure to political science professor Graham Walker last spring, because of his conservative beliefs? And how many defended Penn's Reserve Officers' Training Corps when administrators threatened to remove it because of its discrimination against homosexuals? The University should not castigate individuals or groups whose views administrators find disagreeable. On the contrary, all should be encouraged to share and openly debate their beliefs, without fear of punishment or retribution. We don't have to like it, but we must accept that freedom can only exist when it exists for everyone. That means tolerating others, including the intolerant. Anything else is a sham. The same freedom should exist for orthodox and progressive religions, pro-choice and pro-life groups, The Red and Blue and generation xx magazines and countless other diametrically opposed examples. None should receive an University "endorsement," but all should be allowed to exist here, in support of freedom. The image of a Penn that cherishes liberty should not imply the creation of an utopian campus. Everyone will not agree and get along, but the only alternative is a campus where one ideology reigns supreme, where alternative beliefs are not tolerated and must be suppressed. In that case, the '90s may be just like the '60s? only upside down. Let all ideologies be debated, for in the end, justice will prevail. Right will overcome wrong. And the fool who stands on the corner, calling me a bigot while protected by freedom of speech, will ultimately reveal his own intolerance.