Colleges now encourage students to become a self-governing body of secret police in the vein of Robespierre, providing places where they can report each other for saying something “offensive” on social media.
According to Reason, as many as 100 campuses have enacted “bias reporting” systems where students can report each other for so-called “bias incidents” — the sin of uttering something offensive.
The latest college to join in on this culturally Marxist trend is the Massachusetts-based Williams College, which, according to the campus website, has deemed “name-calling and stereotyping” examples of such bias. The criteria for a “bias incident” might range from outright racist comments to your standard jokes about racial stereotypes.
Other such biases include ones as ridiculous as “a sign that is colorcoded pink for girls and blue for boys.” Here are some more:
Making comments on social media about someone’s disability, ethnicity, race, national origin, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, or political affiliations/beliefs
Writing on a white board about someone’s disability, ethnicity, national origin, race, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, or political affiliations/beliefs
Drawing or creating pictures that imitate, stereotype, or belittle/ridicule someone because of their gender, gender expression, race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, faith, or political affiliation.
The rules fail to make any distinction between actually mocking somebody for their disability and “making comments on social media” about another person’s religious or political beliefs. It’s not clear how the rules are to be enforced, or whether uncomfortable subjects like Islamic terrorism must now be reported to the campus commissars.
The College Fix notes that Williams correctly distinguishes a “bias incident” from a hate crime. However, the reporting system is the same for both “bias” and “hate” issues; anybody who feels victimized by such an incident is encouraged to report it to either the Dean of the College, the Office of Strategic Planning and Diversity, counseling services, or even campus security.
All of this is just an offshoot of the “speech is violence” microaggression culture on college campuses that encourage snowflakes to run into their safe spaces every time they encounter a differing point of view.