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Harvard withdraws 10 acceptances for ‘offensive’ memes in private group chat

washingtonpost.com

21–30 of 370 posts

Re: Harvard withdraws 10 acceptances for ‘offensive’ memes in private group chat

#21

Someone at a state school would have the same thing happen to them if they pulled stuff like this. No reason why they should be treated with kid gloves because they got into Harvard.

I think the concern here is that it was private.

Why? People are totally within their rights to share these things in public or in private. Private institutions, including Harvard, are totally within their rights to rescind admissions offers because of it.

Re: Harvard withdraws 10 acceptances for ‘offensive’ memes in private group chat

#22
I'm so conflicted right now.

On the one hand, yeah, that shit is offensive and I'm not too keen on elevating a person who makes jokes about sexual assault or violence against minorities.

On the other hand I'm terrified at the creeping surveillance society that has institutions examining all of our utterances for "wrong speech", which is much too close for comfort to "wrong think", which is much too close for comfort to "wrong person".

Re: Harvard withdraws 10 acceptances for ‘offensive’ memes in private group chat

#23

We'll have to create a public and a second, private, personality just like in the old days of the police state. Society is more open than it probably was ever before but at the same time, if close minded leaders of fascist political or religious color came into power they'd have their tools handed to them to create an oppressive apparatus never seen before.

> The students in the spinoff group exchanged memes and images “mocking sexual assault, the Holocaust and the deaths of children,” sometimes directing jokes at specific ethnic or racial groups, the Crimson reported. One message “called the hypothetical hanging of a Mexican child ‘piñata time’” while other messages quipped that “abusing children was sexually arousing,” according to images of the chat described by the…

I don't care what they said. If it's against the law, let the law deal with it. If it's covered under freedom of speech, let them speak.

Re: Harvard withdraws 10 acceptances for ‘offensive’ memes in private group chat

#24
post #13

This is why I like 4chan. I can shit post to my hearts content without getting screwed by the morality police.

The critical advantage of 4chan is there's no trademark dilution.

There's just /b/ or whatever, there is no /Harvard/ board to insult the image of a multibillion dollar organization.

Regardless what the kids were posting, I'm not sure what they were thinking, using a name like that can't possibly end well.

Re: Harvard withdraws 10 acceptances for ‘offensive’ memes in private group chat

#25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The students in the spinoff group exchanged memes and images “mocking sexual assault, the Holocaust and the deaths of children,” sometimes directing jokes at specific ethnic or racial groups, the Crimson reported. One message “called the hypothetical hanging of a Mexican child ‘piñata time’” while other messages quipped that “abusing children was sexually arousing,” according to images of the chat described by the…

I don't care what they said. If it's against the law, let the law deal with it. If it's covered under freedom of speech, let them speak.

No one is stoping them from speaking. Harvard just doesn't want them if those are the things they have to say

Re: Harvard withdraws 10 acceptances for ‘offensive’ memes in private group chat

#26

I'm so conflicted right now. On the one hand, yeah, that shit is offensive and I'm not too keen on elevating a person who makes jokes about sexual assault or violence against minorities. On the other hand I'm terrified at the creeping surveillance society that has institutions examining all of our utterances for "wrong speech", which is much too close for comfort to "wrong think", which is much too close for comfort…

> makes jokes about sexual assault or violence against minorities.

At the same time it's somewhat hypocritical of the school to do this as their attitude towards sexual assault on campus is pretty lenient.

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/6/9/harvard-clery-sta...

Re: Harvard withdraws 10 acceptances for ‘offensive’ memes in private group chat

#27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The students in the spinoff group exchanged memes and images “mocking sexual assault, the Holocaust and the deaths of children,” sometimes directing jokes at specific ethnic or racial groups, the Crimson reported. One message “called the hypothetical hanging of a Mexican child ‘piñata time’” while other messages quipped that “abusing children was sexually arousing,” according to images of the chat described by the…

I don't care what they said. If it's against the law, let the law deal with it. If it's covered under freedom of speech, let them speak.

Sure, they can speak. I can then use my right to freedom of association to not associate with them. Is that right not as important?

Re: Harvard withdraws 10 acceptances for ‘offensive’ memes in private group chat

#28

Someone at a state school would have the same thing happen to them if they pulled stuff like this. No reason why they should be treated with kid gloves because they got into Harvard.

I think the concern here is that it was private.

Wasn't this stuff posted on a general group page for that year's Harvard students? That doesn't exactly sound like a private gathering where the school has no interest.

Re: Harvard withdraws 10 acceptances for ‘offensive’ memes in private group chat

#30

What you do and say on social media can and will be used against you.

Also, they are private and something that is not directly implicating Harvard, for which there can be reasons to ethically withdraw/fire someone.
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