Timeline for Should professors intervene if a student is wearing offensive clothing in their classroom?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
14 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 13, 2016 at 0:56 | comment | added | cfr | Under-represented is not the same as a history, or current risk, of discrimination. Despite historical prejudice against left-handed people, it is (as far as I know) now unlikely potential engineers are selected against because they are left-handed. Similarly, discrimination does not require under-representation. A single blind student in a class of 20 does not make blind students under-represented, but they may still face discrimination and I would be concerned about a t-shirt which might create an environment hostile to them. (Note: I pick this example deliberately.) | |
| Nov 24, 2014 at 23:30 | comment | added | Bob Brown | I think it might be useful for everyone to read Ken White's essay on "Shirts and Shirtiness." popehat.com/2014/11/17/shirts-and-shirtiness/… | |
| Mar 10, 2014 at 14:36 | comment | added | ff524 | I just mentioned it because it sounds like it might be unwise to generalize from your "never got in trouble" experience (especially for those not in Germany) | |
| Mar 10, 2014 at 11:36 | comment | added | HdS | @ff524 Yes, but it is covered by free-speech laws in Germany. Ironically, many CDs of COF and effectively banned because they are not allowed for people under 18. | |
| Mar 10, 2014 at 11:35 | comment | added | HdS | @BenCrowell A lot of the T-Shirts I have seen in my life could be constructed as offensive. Maybe not fashion but there are a lot of inmature T-shirts out there. Like "Dort - Mund" with an Arrow pointing towards the Penis (the joke only "works" in german). I personally would not see them as discriminatory but as inmature and act accordingly: talk to the person try to convince him that it's a bad idea. If that doesn't work, go to hihger places. | |
| Mar 8, 2014 at 19:37 | comment | added | Eric Wilson | @BenCrowell I'll agree that they are likely not significantly underrepresented, but I reject the notion that beliefs and actions should be protected on the basis of representation. | |
| Mar 8, 2014 at 17:33 | comment | added | user1482 | @EricWilson: If satanists are underrepresented in engineering, does that mean that I must be careful not to offend them? Yes. But I'm not aware of any evidence that they're underrepresented. Ditto for atheists, left-handed people, or Albanians. When we talk about underrepresented groups, we're talking about groups that are underrepresented in proportion to their numbers in the general population. | |
| Mar 7, 2014 at 17:58 | comment | added | ShreevatsaR | I'd like to -1 for "Running to your teachers first is similar to running to your mommy and not really grown up behaviour". This essentially makes yet another recourse unavailable to those who already feel victimized (and are uncomfortable with direct confrontation), by dissuading them from the only thing they can see to do (approach authority figures), and implying that they should feel bad about themselves for doing it. | |
| Mar 7, 2014 at 15:27 | comment | added | Eric Wilson | @BenCrowell If satanists are underrepresented in engineering, does that mean that I must be careful not to offend them? | |
| Mar 7, 2014 at 4:01 | comment | added | ff524 | Regarding the specific shirt you used to wear (not the shirt I encountered), Wikipedia says: "The T-shirt is banned in New Zealand, a handful of fans have faced court appearances and fines for wearing the shirt in public." (en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_Filth) | |
| Mar 6, 2014 at 20:21 | comment | added | user1482 | This fails to address the specifics of the question. The question refers to a t-shirt that was not just offensive but offensive toward a specific group (women) in a way that violated the school's rules against "discriminatory harassment." This was stated to be in the context of an engineering program; women are underrepresented in engineering, and it's important not to create a hostile atmosphere for them. If your heavy-metal shirt had, e.g., a satanist message, that's a different case, because although it might offend Christians, Christians are not an underrepresented group in engineering. | |
| Mar 6, 2014 at 8:52 | history | edited | user102 | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
edited body
|
| Mar 6, 2014 at 7:56 | review | First posts | |||
| Mar 6, 2014 at 8:23 | |||||
| Mar 6, 2014 at 7:36 | history | answered | HdS | CC BY-SA 3.0 |