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[chronicle_moderator]

Last year, after a black woman accused three white Duke University lacrosse players of raping her, faculty members and students clamored for quicker action by the administration. Now that the accuser's case appears to be crumbling, they are said to have rushed to judgment. More recently, at Guilford College, three Palestinian students have accused several football players of a hate crime. Administrators have begged for patience as the Quaker-affiliated college conducts its internal judicial process. When painful allegations arise, how can colleges strike a balance between acting too slowly and acting too quickly?
Read One Ad, 88 Professors ... and Fighting Words.

[mabeelrc]

No, it isn't.

[professays]

A hate crime is a preposterous legal notion that makes it possible to send to prison everyone who ventures some critical remarks. It doesn't comply with freedom of speech and is against common sense.

[tenured_feminist]

Well, professays, we don't know what your discipline is, but it's obviously not law!

No, <i>time</i> may not be of the essence.  But getting the facts as closely as possible is pretty important.  I'd say that whoever writes statements or makes pronouncements should talk to the individuals involved --  and this includes administrators making policy statements.  Further, if you're on a campus with lots of smart people who've studied a particular issue, make use of them.  Legal scholars can help a college figure out how to respond effectively to an issue of hate speech, or if they disagree, at least to know where the boundaries are.  Feminist scholars can help to think through how to respond to an instance of student-on-student sexual assault.  Scholars of culture and race can help to respond to instances of racism.  Scholars of sexuality can be consulted when homophobic incidents occur. 

This isn't to say that an administration should just do whatever its experts tell it to, but it's much more likely not to make the situation a lot worse if it goes this route.  Likewise for people who want to write statements.

[griz882]

With the latest news that the young players are not just cleared but "innocent" surely the rush to civil court can be felt across the nation.  I now hear that the infamous "88" are to be named, individually, in a civil suit that will clearly cost them real money, but may even push for a hate crime conviction.  My questions: Is the university in any way responsible for the defense of the 88?  Tenure might protect their jobs but it doesn't count much in a court, if found guilty of a hate crime will those who have tenure keep their jobs?  At what point, when it comes to students, does a professor have a responsibility to protect the student over his or her own opinions?   

I am not a lawyer but I do think a storm is brewing over the heads of these 88 profs.  The administration of any university is difficult to understand, but I imagine we will soon hear calls for 88 resignations followed by much yelling and then the eventual firing of those that try to stay.