Conversation cops step in to school students

[The Shadow]

The extent to which a university can be considered private property is one that's debatable. For one thing, a lot of them receive public funding. Another thing to consider is that the owner of private property determines what is allowed on said property. The various commissions and bodies who design and implement these kinds of programs and policies can't be legitimately called owners of the university, and therefore not within their rights to force them on everyone else.

But even if you could make a case that universities are private property, here's the thing -- they're supposed to be places of learning, and one of their core philosophies is the free and open exchange of ideas and have historically upheld the value of freedom expression.

A Quote from John Jay Chapman, commencement address to the Graduating Class, Hobart College, 1900:

"I give you this one rule of conduct: Do what you will, but speak out always; be shunned, be hated, be ridiculed, be scared, be in doubt, but don't be gagged."

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[Skunkle]

Yes and yes. But many, many people of high school and even college age use "That's gay" as an expression fully, mentally removed from a sexual-orientation slur, which it very much is. What I hope this does is get the message out that under no circumstances is it acceptable to say that. That's just one of many freely-used terms that needs to get abandoned, and it won't happen unless people are called on it - and not by real police, but by their peers, as will happen here.