Should Speech Codes Be Allowed On College Campuses?

            In 1993, Eden Jacobowitz, a freshman at Penn State, was studying in his dorm room. At the same time, a group of black women were making a lot of noise beneath the dorm windows. Jacobowitz, who was born in Israel, joined with other students who shouted at the women to quiet down.
             He used a Hebrew word that roughly translated in English to water buffaloes, which the women deemed racist. The women complained and the politically correct university officials launched an investigation.
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             Jacobowitz, the only student to come forward on his own and volunteer that he did indeed shout at the women, said he meant no slur and offered repeatedly to meet with the women and explain. Penn's judicial process denied him any such opportunity. Lost also was any admonition of the women or admission by them that perhaps there was some error on their part for loudly singing and chanting outside the dorms on a week night after midnight.
             In defense of the University's action against Jacobowitz, Penn President Sheldon Hackney never mentioned the importance of free speech on a college campus. Rather, he chose to observe that " 'open expression' and 'diversity' needed to be balanced." (Shapiro/Sparks 25).
             The University of Wisconsin at Parkside suspended one student for addressing another as "Shaka Zulu"; yet the university's Madison campus held that the term redneck was not discriminatory. (Hopkins/Levy 66).
             Increasingly, restrictions on speech on college campuses are becoming implemented more and more. This raises the question, is this a good thing? It is the opinion of many that speech codes on college campuses should be abolished because they violate the first amendment of the constitution, are extremely vague and ambiguous and they diminish the beliefs, ideals and thoughts of the students that are subject to them.
             The first amendment of the constitution states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.