2008 Woodie Awards
Pest-decide
Rules should apply equally to everyone, not just the obnoxious
Issue date: 11/30/07 Section: Editorial
- Page 1 of 1
Ever notice that when you swat at a fly it tends to just bother you more than if you ignored it?
So what exactly is CMU thinking?
Dennis Lennox annoys CMU officials, but the recent accusations against him border on the ridiculous.
Various departments and administrators' actions are far louder than Lennox's.
Quit giving him ammunition, like the recent letter threatening anything from a written reprimand to expulsion for distributing a political pamphlet in a building.
Apparently, CMU can punish someone for that.
According to the University Policies and Procedures Affecting Advocacy Activities, you've got to be 25 feet from a classroom to distribute papers. The rules may be wrong, but the university can punish him.
They shouldn't.
Lennox probably is just pushing buttons. But that doesn't mean he's wrong.
While everyone should have the right to distribute non-violent pamphlets wherever they want on campus, they don't.
But Central's policies - no chalking near buildings or distributing fliers in buildings - are routinely flaunted and go virtually unchecked.
Punishing Lennox when others get away with the same thing is suspicious. Either start applying the policy evenly or quit applying it at all.
The problem for Lennox is not what he did, but that he was caught.
Expulsion would be an overreaction to yet another free speech issue raised by Lennox. Give him a slap on the wrist for being caught.
But make sure the next time someone distributes unapproved pamphlets they get the same slap on the wrist.
If he bothers CMU, ignoring him is a better choice. Let's stop these continued measures that only result in bad publicity for CMU, while making Lennox seem like a First Amendment guardian.
The fly shouldn't be winning this often. CMU: Quit handing him victories.
So what exactly is CMU thinking?
Dennis Lennox annoys CMU officials, but the recent accusations against him border on the ridiculous.
Various departments and administrators' actions are far louder than Lennox's.
Quit giving him ammunition, like the recent letter threatening anything from a written reprimand to expulsion for distributing a political pamphlet in a building.
Apparently, CMU can punish someone for that.
According to the University Policies and Procedures Affecting Advocacy Activities, you've got to be 25 feet from a classroom to distribute papers. The rules may be wrong, but the university can punish him.
They shouldn't.
Lennox probably is just pushing buttons. But that doesn't mean he's wrong.
While everyone should have the right to distribute non-violent pamphlets wherever they want on campus, they don't.
But Central's policies - no chalking near buildings or distributing fliers in buildings - are routinely flaunted and go virtually unchecked.
Punishing Lennox when others get away with the same thing is suspicious. Either start applying the policy evenly or quit applying it at all.
The problem for Lennox is not what he did, but that he was caught.
Expulsion would be an overreaction to yet another free speech issue raised by Lennox. Give him a slap on the wrist for being caught.
But make sure the next time someone distributes unapproved pamphlets they get the same slap on the wrist.
If he bothers CMU, ignoring him is a better choice. Let's stop these continued measures that only result in bad publicity for CMU, while making Lennox seem like a First Amendment guardian.
The fly shouldn't be winning this often. CMU: Quit handing him victories.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
BP
posted 11/30/07 @ 2:05 AM EST
Other people have been punished, for precisely the same 'wrong' rules - it's just that their slap on the wrist has not been as loud as lennox's.
Last year, a Youtube video and newspaper article were used to incriminate people that were handing out leaflets and holding signs. (Continued…)
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