University of Wisconsin to punish disruption of conservative speeches

University of Wisconsin regents passed new guidelines that would suspend students for a second instant of  “violent or other disorderly misconduct that materially and substantially disrupted the free expression of others.” Critics of the policy think that some students may view the policy as prohibiting protests. Wisconsin president Ray cross said that while violent protests have always been against the law, the new policy keeps speeches free of disruption and encourages students to learn how to engage with speakers and ideas they find hateful. (Newsweek, October 10, 2017, by Beatrice Dupuy)

Elie Mystal in Above the Law, October 10, 2017, argues that the new policy cramps minority dissent, “Look, forcing people to pretend ideas on ethnic separatism and white supremacy are equally valuable as ideas on, say, tax cuts is a KEY strategy in the Nazi/Alt-Right takeover of America. These people NEED regular society to treat them with respect and dignity.”

In an editorial, The Daily Californian criticized the policy as a move to “turn college campuses into safe spaces for bigoted speech, actively muffling students threatened by the likes of Milo Yiannopoulos.”