From: kadie@eff.org (Carl M. Kadie)
Subject: Re: Banned Computer Material 1992
Originator: kadie@eff.org
Organization: The Electronic Frontier Foundation
Date: Sun, 4 Oct 1992 14:54:56 GMT

To generalize, when a person in a position of authority is offended he
or she must take care that criticism is not mistaken for an official
orders. (What's the Shakespearian allusion?  "Will no one rid me of
this priest"(?))

Here is a repost about a similar situation at the Harvard Law School.
The members of the disiplinary board condemned the offensive material,
but made clear that they had no authority to restrict it.

- Carl

============
From caf-talk Caf May 24 00:00:00 1992
From: wdstarr@athena.mit.edu (William December Starr)
Newsgroups: misc.legal
Subject:  Harvard Law School uproar update
Date: 24 May 92 12:47:26 GMT


Just thought I'd update people on the latest developments in that
tempest at that little law school up the river from Northeastern...

On May 21st, the Harvard Law School disciplinary board announced
that it would _not_ take action against the authors of the
now-infamous parody article "Manifesto of Post-Mortem Legal
Feminism."

The board basically held that if there was to be any disciplinary
action taken on the grounds that the publication of the parody of
the late Prof. Mary Jo Frug's article, such action should be
initiated by the dean of the law school: 

"[T]he board is not the proper forum for further action at this
time...  As individuals, we all join those members of the community
who believe the parody was offensive, and we deplore the pain it has
caused many persons.  However, with regard to the publication, the
board notes that at the present time, neither the statement of
rights and responsibilities nor any other law school rule imposes
limits on the content of publications by students that would be
applicable here."

The board announced its decision in a public letter to Prof. David
Kennedy -- legal scholars take note, that's *David* Kennedy, not
Duncan Kennedy, who's also a professor at Harvard Law -- who on
April 19th had written an open letter to the board calling for
disciplinary action on the grounds that the article was
"incompatible with an open academic environment."  Kennedy had also
been one of the "Group of 15" law professors who had condemned the
parody and had called for the law school to investigate issues of
sexual harassment and conditions for women on the campus, but he was
alone in his call for disciplinary action against the parody
authors.

This is not necessarily the end of the issue, by the way.  The dean
of the law school, Robert Clark, is currently out of the country; he
might take some action on his own when he returns (probably next
week).

-- William December Starr <wdstarr@athena.mit.edu>






may_24_1992:been one of the "Group of 15" law professors who had condemned the
oct_06_1991:Yesterday, the _Lantern_ published a front-page editorial condemning the
oct_27_1991:        "Prodigy condemns anti-Semitism.  It is repugnant and
-- 
Carl Kadie -- I do not represent EFF; this is just me.
 =kadie@eff.org, kadie@cs.uiuc.edu =
Newsgroups: alt.comp.acad-freedom.talk,comp.org.eff.talk,comp.admin.policy,alt.censorship,soc.college