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10名哈佛新生发毁三观表情被开除
美国哈佛大学学报《深红报》日前报道,至少有10名已经被哈佛大学录取的新生被取消入学资格,原因是他们在脸书私聊小组中发布涉及种族歧视、儿童虐待等极端言论和图像。有人质疑学校的做法违反言论自由的精神,但也有人认为三观都不要了,还有资格谈言论自由?元芳,你怎么看?
At least 10 students lost their chance to attend Harvard College after posting "obscene memes" to a private Facebook chat, the main Harvard student newspaper reported.
据哈佛大学校报报道,至少10名学生因在脸书私聊小组中发布“猥琐表情”而失去哈佛大学的入学资格。
The memes included jokes about pedophilia, child abuse, sexual assault, and the Holocaust.
这些表情包恶搞的话题涉及恋童癖、虐待儿童、性侵害以及纳粹大屠杀。
比如,一个表情包是墨西哥小孩在学校浴室上吊,配文是“皮纳塔时刻到了”。
注:皮纳塔是一种由装饰纸、陶土、布料做成的容器,皮纳塔游戏是这么玩儿的:
另一张图片中,一个企鹅站在烤炉旁边,配上一段对白:“太好了,犹太人快烤好啦!”
The memes were shared as part of a private Facebook chat where admitted students in the class of 2021 shared edgy jokes as part of a "just-because-we-got-into-Harvard-doesn't-mean-we-can't-have-fun kind of thing", an admitted student told the Harvard Crimson.
一位被录取的学生告诉《哈佛深红报》,这些表情包来自哈佛2021届学生的脸书私聊小组,他们在这个群组里分享一些尖酸刻薄的笑话,“被哈佛录取不代表我们就不能开玩笑”。
The paper quoted a number of students from the incoming class, who had a range of responses, including two who said it was the right approach to withdraw the offers. "I do not know how those offensive images could be defended," one student said.
新生们对此事各持己见,《哈佛深红报》报道了一些学生的观点。其中有两位新生称取消这些人的入学资格是正确的。一名学生表示,“我不知道他们对这些冒犯无礼的图片有什么可辩解的”。
At least two Harvard professors, however, questioned the decision to withdraw the offers. Alan Dershowitz, an emeritus professor at Harvard Law School, told the Guardian that losing admission to Harvard was a "draconian punishment" for "very bad taste jokes that students were sending to each other".
然而,至少有两名哈佛教授对取消入学资格的做法表示质疑。哈佛大学法学院荣誉教授艾伦•德肖维茨告诉《卫报》,学生们因互相之间“开非常恶劣的玩笑”而失去哈佛的入学资格,这样的“惩罚太苛刻”。
"It sounds like Harvard is intruding too deeply into the private lives of students," said Dershowitz, who has represented a series of high-profile clients, including OJ Simpson.
“听起来,哈佛对学生的私生活管得太宽了”,曾为OJ•辛普森等多位名人做过代理律师的德肖维茨说。
"It may affect them for life," Dershowitz said.
“这可能影响他们一生。”
Harvey C Mansfield, one of Harvard's most outspoken conservative professors and the author of a book called Manliness, also told the Guardian he questioned the decision. "The bounds of what is offensive have been extended and distorted, and I no longer trust the bent judgment of politically correct enforcers."
哈维•C•曼斯菲尔德是哈佛大学最直言不讳的保守派教授,他也是《刚毅》一书的作者。曼斯菲尔德告诉《卫报》,他对这个决定存有质疑。“人们对无礼冒犯的界定已经被放大歪曲,我不再相信那些坚持政治正确的执法者做出的不公判决。”
A spokeswoman for Harvard University declined to comment on the report. "We do not comment publicly on the admissions status of individual applicants," Rachael Dane wrote in an email.
哈佛大学发言人瑞秋•戴恩拒绝对该新闻发表评论。她在邮件中写道:“我们对于个别申请人的录取情况不予置评”。
The official Facebook page for students admitted to join the Harvard Class of 2021 warns students that "Harvard College reserves the right to withdraw an offer of admission under various conditions including if an admitted student engages in behavior that brings into question his or her honesty, maturity, or moral character".
2021届哈佛待入学新生的脸书官方主页提醒学生,“如果新生在诚信、成熟度或道德品质方面存在问题,那么校方保留针对恶劣情况取消学生入学资格的权利。
Dershowitz said this guidance was too vague to provide students with any real understanding of the school's expectations. "When you punish a student seriously without articulating standards, I think it raises questions," he said.
德肖维茨称,这个说法太模糊了,学校没有提出任何具体的要求。“当学校严肃处理学生时,却不说明他们的判断标准,我认为这是有问题的。”
而法律专家表示,在这种情况下,哈佛新生的言论自由是不受保护的,哥伦比亚大学法学院教授凯瑟琳•弗兰克(Katherine Franke)称:
“These students have absolutely no free speech rights that were violated in this context."
“在这种情况下,这些学生的言论自由权利根本没有被侵犯。”
“The First Amendment’s Free Speech protections apply only to violations by public entities, and since Harvard is a private university the First Amendment does not apply,” she said.
她表示:“美国宪法第一修正案中对于言论自由的保护仅针对公共实体的违法情况,而哈佛是所私立大学,所以第一修正案根本不适用。”
乔治城大学法律中心宪法教授苏珊•布洛赫(Susan Bloch)称:
"The Constitution really doesn't apply here. The Constitution limits how much government can suppress speech, not a private university," she said.
“此种情形中,宪法还真不适用。宪法限制了政府对言论的压制,但不限制私立学校。”
早在去年,哈佛大学的新生群组就出现过类似的情况。当时,校方只是发布声明予以谴责,并没有处以开除的处罚。
Meme-sharing Facebook groups have become a new college tradition, Mic reported last week, with students across the country trading inside jokes and fighting battles with rival universities via screenshot and caption.
据Mic上周报道,脸书表情包分享群组已经成为一个新兴的大学传统,全国各地的学生们用截图和配字互开玩笑,与对手学校互怼。
The names of some of these public Facebook groups, Mic reported, were "Harvard Memes for Elitist 1% Tweens", "UCLA Memes for Sick AF Tweens" and "USC Memes for Spoiled Pre-Teens".
报道称,这些公共脸书群组的名字包括,“哈佛前1%精英少年表情包群”、“UCLA超变态青少年表情包群”、“USC被宠坏的小少年表情包群”等。
The private Facebook group chat that led to offers of admission being rescinded was named, at one point, "Harvard memes for horny bourgeois teens", the Crimson reported.
《深红报》称,此次被取消入学资格的学生所在的私人脸书群组名为“哈佛饥渴猥琐资产阶级少年”。