FREE SPEECH IS CRUCIAL TO OUR SENSE OF BELONGING TO, AND OF OUR IDENTITY IN, A COLLECTIVE SPACE.
Coker University believes speech should be grounded in our unified efforts to include, to respect, 并关心所有公民. The freedom of speech ultimately yields controversy in communities that understand that truth is so complex that it can only emerge in mixed form. 就像两根棍子之间的摩擦产生了火光一样, 挑战的不和谐的声音, object, question, 批评可以给任何问题带来更多的光明. Concurrently, 教育的核心是使人类正规博彩十大网站财富得以利用的愿望, 培养新的理解, and to support ideas and actions that will lead to a more just and more equitable world for all humankind.
However, 当我们放眼世界, watch the news, or read social media, we may be dismayed by the words being spoken and the actions that are currently taking place–actions that divide, insult, 贬低别人. The Southern Poverty Law Center has documented a rise in incidents of hate directed at people of color, 移民和难民, 还有女同性恋的人, gay, bisexual, 跨性别群体. 这些事件正在世界各地发生, in the United States, in South Carolina, on college campuses. 正规博彩十大网站也不能幸免于这种令人不安的行为模式.
我们并不寻求忽略公民之间的差异. On the contrary, we value the diverse experiences that each citizen of the community brings when those opposing voices struggle to persuade and elevate. 多样性造就了这场斗争. We value its potential to render interlocutors as agonists–those who struggle together in pursuit of some goal–as opposed to antagonists–those who struggle against opponents. 这最终会带来力量与和谐.
学术研究和教育必须在民间对话的气氛中进行. 我们可以不带侮辱性地提出不同意见, offending, 或者伤害他人, 但我们不会在恐吓面前保持沉默, ridicule, or bigotry. 贬低他人的语言, demeans, ridicules, stereotypes, or belittles others is at odds with Coker’s educational objective and will not be tolerated. Therefore, it is necessary for members of the University to recognize and actively resist incidents of verbal harassment and intimidation, whether by voice, gesture, social media, phone or text, 发生在我们的校园. This behavior makes others feel unwelcome and is a violation of University policy; it has no place at Coker University.
It is up to each one of us to make the University a community that welcomes and celebrates the essential worth and unique qualities of each person. We hold ourselves and all around us to a high standard of speech–forgiving imperfect attempts at learning to speak in such a voice, but continuing to recognize that the well-being of diverse citizens is always at the center of democracy’s aim at Coker University.
欲了解更多关于多样性和包容性的信息，请联系达琳·斯莫尔, Director, 多样性中心, 跨信仰和包容性教育, dsmall@alloccasionsgiftreviews.com， 843-383-8039，升118.
