Thread by @BBuchman_CNS

THREAD:
Lee Tyner, general counsel for Texas Christian Univ. said at DOJ's forum on free speech in higher ed:
"We must teach students to expect to be confronted with new and uncomfortable ideas that demand reflection."
1/9

"The best remedy for bad/hateful ideas is more ideas," he said. "Some schools are re-imagining curriculum, addressing expectations with respect to expression," Tyner said, noting Purdue University is a leader on this front. ,
2/9

(Note to reader, Purdue prez Mitch Daniels tried to have historian Howard Zinn's book, A People's History of the United States, banned from the college in 2013.)
3/9

Tyner continued: "Hate and intolerance should be teachable moments, faculty should provide students with ideas on how to make their students heard and debate the issues in a meaningful way."
4/9

"Universities teach students the importance of confronting pernicious ideas instead of forcing them underground. Offensive speech and extremist speakers generate discussion, debate and reflection that leads to tremendous community growth," Tyner said.
5/9

"We must never act like hate speech is benign. We shouldn’t dismiss students as snowflakes because they feel subject to injury…'sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me' is the biggest lie our mothers ever taught us."
6/9

"Its not that hate poses no threat…we protect speech because ideas are powerful. And we have to remember when we say speech is free we do not mean it has no cost. We must remember that the cost of offensive speech is born by underrepresented minorities and we must tend...
7/9

"...to the feelings of pain, fear and loss if we are going to persist with higher education." On best practices moving ahead, Tyner told guests: "Even as we seek to remedy and combat hate speech, we must help students understand why we do not do so by punishing the speaker."
8/9

"The remedy to offensive speech is more speech rather than prohibition, we can allow speech without suggesting all ideas have equal merit."
9/9