HLS Proposes Ban On Hate Speech

In the Law School's first official attempt to regulate student, professorial and administrative discourse, a faculty committee has included measures for prohibiting "hate speech" in a draft of guidelines for sexual harassment.

The Committee on Sexual Harassment Guidelines, which released the draft this week, said the guidelines are part of an effort to promote a more favorable working and educational environment at the Law School.

The "hate speech" provisions--which forbid "harassment by discriminatory conduct and vilification"--were included in the guidelines because committee members considered "hate speech" detrimental to both working and learning environments, according to the report.

"Our job is to make sure that people are equally free to study and work regardless of their gender or sexual orientation," said committee chair Richard H. Fallon, professor of law.

But some students worry that the ban on an "offensive working environment" may give people opportunities to restrict groups they find personally offensive.

X. Carlos Vasquez, co-chair of Lambda, the Law School's gay, lesbian and bisexual students association, said he was concerned that, if passed, the new speech legislation might have detrimental effects on some members of the Law School community.

"It may be used with more force against gays and lesbians," Vasquez said.

In the draft, committee members wrote that "the right of free expression does not encompass a right to engage in abusive or intimidating conduct." The proposal prohibits speech that a "reasonable person" would find "physically intimidating" or "creating...a seriously offensive working or educational environment at Harvard Law School."

The sexual harassment guidelines also apply tooff-campus parties and law firms which recruit onthe Law School campus, said Professor of Law AlanS. Dershowitz, who is one of the committeemembers.

Guidelines already exist at the Law School foroutside speakers.

Vasquez said the "offensive workingenvironment" phrase could be unfairly used againstgays and lesbians if people claim they were notonly sexually harassed, but made even moreuncomfortabel because the alleged harasser wasgay.

But Fallon said he does not read the guidelinesin the same way. He said an atmosphere cannot beconsidered" unreasonably offensive" because ofpersonal biases towards gender, and race.

The draft of the guidelines was distributed toall students at the Law School, and the committeehas scheduled a public meeting on Monday todiscuss its provisions.

"The document speaks for itself. We want tohear what people have to say about it," saidFallon.

Inga S. Bernstein, co-chair of the Law School'sCoalition for Civil Rights, said she believes theguidelines are designed to provide equalprotection for all groups at the Law School.

"The goal of the policy [on hate speech] is tobalance equality rights with speech rights ofeveryone," Bernstein said.

Fallon said reactions to three of the foursections of the draft have been very favorablyreceived.

He said that when people read the draftguidelines, they must consider them in the contextthat the Law School has never had an officialsexual harassment policy. The package givescareful consideration to all groups, he said.

Dershowitz said the committee began theirdeliberations on the report with very diverseviews, but arrived at a fairly high degree ofconsensus.

Committee members wanted to recreate a code notbased on federal guidelines, but one specificallytargeted to the Law School environment, Dershowitzsaid. That is why code often uses hypotheticalsand does not encourage extreme provisions, headded.

The College has similar provisions on freespeech, contained in the 1990 FAS Guidelines onFree Speech report. The guidelines sanction"behavior evidently intended to dishonor suchcharacteristics as race, gender, ethnic group,religious beliefs or sexual orientation.

The sexual harassment guidelines also apply tooff-campus parties and law firms which recruit onthe Law School campus, said Professor of Law AlanS. Dershowitz, who is one of the committeemembers.

Guidelines already exist at the Law School foroutside speakers.

Vasquez said the "offensive workingenvironment" phrase could be unfairly used againstgays and lesbians if people claim they were notonly sexually harassed, but made even moreuncomfortabel because the alleged harasser wasgay.

But Fallon said he does not read the guidelinesin the same way. He said an atmosphere cannot beconsidered" unreasonably offensive" because ofpersonal biases towards gender, and race.

The draft of the guidelines was distributed toall students at the Law School, and the committeehas scheduled a public meeting on Monday todiscuss its provisions.

"The document speaks for itself. We want tohear what people have to say about it," saidFallon.

Inga S. Bernstein, co-chair of the Law School'sCoalition for Civil Rights, said she believes theguidelines are designed to provide equalprotection for all groups at the Law School.

"The goal of the policy [on hate speech] is tobalance equality rights with speech rights ofeveryone," Bernstein said.

Fallon said reactions to three of the foursections of the draft have been very favorablyreceived.

He said that when people read the draftguidelines, they must consider them in the contextthat the Law School has never had an officialsexual harassment policy. The package givescareful consideration to all groups, he said.

Dershowitz said the committee began theirdeliberations on the report with very diverseviews, but arrived at a fairly high degree ofconsensus.

Committee members wanted to recreate a code notbased on federal guidelines, but one specificallytargeted to the Law School environment, Dershowitzsaid. That is why code often uses hypotheticalsand does not encourage extreme provisions, headded.

The College has similar provisions on freespeech, contained in the 1990 FAS Guidelines onFree Speech report. The guidelines sanction"behavior evidently intended to dishonor suchcharacteristics as race, gender, ethnic group,religious beliefs or sexual orientation.