I have long been a supporter of equal rights for minorities, women and the LGBT community, and I think the mission of the STOP Bias program is a noble one. However, the fact that the university will actively be on the lookout for what is perceived as ‘bias’ and will take action on such incidents is quite alarming.

Who decides what is inappropriate? As an atheist, my existence alone is offensive to many people, and I have been told that ‘my kind’ should just ‘go away’ or that I will ‘burn in hell.’ Does this mean I am not allowed to go out on Halloween, or any other time, as myself? Will I be forbidden to criticize religion or politics because people may feel I am being ‘biased’ or ‘offensive?’ The subjective nature of the enforcement of this regulation means it should be thrown out.

We also have the issue of free speech. As a private organization, the university is well within its legal means to regulate speech, but does this mean it always should? College campuses have always been known as centers for debate. What message does it send to the students when the administration decides which ideas are allowed and which are not? Syracuse University claims to be a place that ‘celebrates diversity,’ but it leaves out the caveat that this only applies to the type of diversity it approves of. As Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. said, the First Amendment is not to protect the speech on which we agree, but the speech we hate.

James Johnson

Graduate student at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry