Today’s Examiner editorial shows that the University of Maryland richly deserves its “red” rating (the lowest one possible) from the Foundation of Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). The rating goes to schools that “clearly and substantially restrict freedom of speech.”
In the editorial, we learn that a Maryland student recently was denied service by a check-out clerk at a food collective in the student union because the clerk disagreed with the message on her shirt. The shirt proclaimed “I Stand For Israel.” Because her speech was “offensive,” i.e. it offended the Israel-hating clerk, the student ended up apologizing to the clerk and counting herself lucky that the store provided a different clerk to ring up her sale. Oh, and the student proved the sincerity of her apology by offering the clerk a chocolate cake.
The Examiner editorial should be read in conjunction with Winfield Myers’ piece on the Examiner’s blog board about the state of Middle East studies on college campuses.