Table of Contents
No Benefit of the Doubt for Ratener
Check out the in this morning’s edition of Washington’s King County Journal about Peter Ratener at Bellevue Community College (BCC). The article points out that Ratener has apologized profusely for his math question gaffe, and finally enlisted ֭’s help after BCC caved to “some leaders of the local black community” who “urged the board to take strong action, including termination.”Ratener told the King County Journal that “There has been an organized attack on me and the school and I needed an organization fighting for me.” The article continues:
Greg Lukianoff, president of ֭, said the discussion generated by Ratener's question, and his subsequent apology should have resolved the incident, making the suspension unnecessary.
“But when you have a state institution policing people's writing for being offensive, you're on a slippery slope," said Lukianoff, who wants BCC to drop Ratener's suspension.
“He said it was unintentional, but the benefit of the doubt flew out the window. It happens a lot in our hyperpolarized society. Under this environment, people don't conceive of the possibility that it may have just been a mistake.”
Recent Articles
FIRE’s award-winning Newsdesk covers the free speech news you need to stay informed.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali will not submit
Podcast
Ayaan Hirsi Ali grew up in a culture of conformity. She was beaten and mutilated. She was told who she must marry. Eventually, she rebelled. "You don't speak up at first," she told us. "First you leave and you find a place of safety. It's...