So much for freedom of thought at universities

[Togo]

Is he though? That isn't the impression I got from what I read. I got the sense that the mere presence of his opinion, and his steadfast keeping of it, was the "problem".

Is your 'sense' of it based on the details of the report, or the political point that the person who reported it to you wanted to make?

Maybe I misread it. If he simply kept going on and on and wouldn't shut up, then that is one thing. If he gave the opinion and everybody set their gaze on it, responded to it and questioned him on it, so he continued to speak on it that is something entirely different.

The complaint was that he wouldn't stop expressing his opinion on the subject, to the detriment of other participants. Given that there is no 'right to reply' and should be no 'right to reply' on every contribution made in a class discussion, the question becomes why he was speaking. Certainly you're correct that if people were demanding responses from him and then not liking those responses, they'd be at fault. However, if he was simply speaking when directly asked, it seems odd that neither he nor the university nor the professor mentioned the fact. Instead the complaint was that he wouldn't stop. In his lengthy reply to the university, he repeatedly expresses the idea that he has a right to answer any and all criticism, which suggests to me that that is the core of the problem.

Did the professor say something like "Fair thought, but assuming for the moment that rape culture does exist.... " and go on from there? Or was it more "Yes. Rape culture does exist. Don't say that it doesn't again. It makes people uncomfortable when you deny it"?

I doubt he said either one. Neither party mention such. If the professor said something controversial, I would have thought someone would have said something.

I'm suspicious of any attempt to add details to make it a more complete narrative. From the details it seems like we have one student who, in expressing opinions that others found controversial, ended up dominating the discussions and alienating the class. That fits in well with my own experiences on participating in and running such discussions. It's likely that the student felt quite pressured. It's likely that many of his fellow students were quite unpleasant to him on account of the opinions he was expressing. But the reason he was banned appears to be that he wouldn't stop doing something he felt entitled to do and that he argues in his letter he was entitled to do - defend his position every time it was challenged. You can't do that and have a class discussion.

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Is he though? That isn't the impression I got from what I read. I got the sense that the mere presence of his opinion, and his steadfast keeping of it, was the "problem".

Is your 'sense' of it based on the details of the report, or the political point that the person who reported it to you wanted to make?

Maybe I misread it. If he simply kept going on and on and wouldn't shut up, then that is one thing. If he gave the opinion and everybody set their gaze on it, responded to it and questioned him on it, so he continued to speak on it that is something entirely different.

The complaint was that he wouldn't stop expressing his opinion on the subject, to the detriment of other participants. Given that there is no 'right to reply' and should be no 'right to reply' on every contribution made in a class discussion, the question becomes why he was speaking. Certainly you're correct that if people were demanding responses from him and then not liking those responses, they'd be at fault. However, if he was simply speaking when directly asked, it seems odd that neither he nor the university nor the professor mentioned the fact. Instead the complaint was that he wouldn't stop. In his lengthy reply to the university, he repeatedly expresses the idea that he has a right to answer any and all criticism, which suggests to me that that is the core of the problem.

Did the professor say something like "Fair thought, but assuming for the moment that rape culture does exist.... " and go on from there? Or was it more "Yes. Rape culture does exist. Don't say that it doesn't again. It makes people uncomfortable when you deny it"?

I doubt he said either one. Neither party mention such. If the professor said something controversial, I would have thought someone would have said something.

I'm suspicious of any attempt to add details to make it a more complete narrative. From the details it seems like we have one student who, in expressing opinions that others found controversial, ended up dominating the discussions and alienating the class. That fits in well with my own experiences on participating in and running such discussions. It's likely that the student felt quite pressured. It's likely that many of his fellow students were quite unpleasant to him on account of the opinions he was expressing. But the reason he was banned appears to be that he wouldn't stop doing something he felt entitled to do and that he argues in his letter he was entitled to do - defend his position every time it was challenged. You can't do that and have a class discussion.