A new University of California faculty training guide detailing phrases that might cause students to feel discriminated against has drawn widespread criticism. The guide is meant to promote an atmosphere of “inclusive excellence” on campus. Included in a list of taboo statements are “American is the land of opportunity;” “affirmative action is racist;” “everyone can succeed in this society, if they work hard enough;” and “I believe the most qualified person should get the job.”(Fox News, June 15, 2015, by Maxim Lott)
Writing in Bloomberg News, June 29, 2015, Cass Sunstein argues that to take insensitive statements or microaggressions too seriously can undermine intellectual freedom and expression. “It does students no service to treat them like children — or to threaten to punish people for stating perfectly legitimate political convictions,” he writes. But Sunstein says without instituting thought police, it is also important to identify statements that degrade students’ sense of belonging and cause psychological damage.
An editorial in the Los Angeles Times, June 24, 2015, worries about the effects of the UC guidelines, that although no one is forced to stop using the statements, it could chill the free speech of untenured faculty. “We’re all for sensitivity and we are against racism and sexism. But colleges have always been bastions of free expression because the learning process requires students to debate controversial and occasionally disturbing ideas. UC has done a disservice to that noble academic goal,” says the editorial.