Student Choices: My Poster; My Identity

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At the Center

Wednesday, Apr. 29, 2009

This case, one in a series by the Ethics Center, raises a common ethical issue that students must confront: What to do when dorm room self-expression offends others:

Mary lives in a college dorm and displays a “Yes on Prop 8” poster on her door, showing her support for the California ballot proposition banning gay marriage. James, her dorm neighbor, finds this poster offensive and demands Mary take it down. James worked for the defeat of the measure and feels the “Yes on 8” campaign was homophobic and discriminatory. Mary feels the poster is an expression of her beliefs and identity and that she shouldn’t have to remove it.

Should Mary take the poster down? Should the dorm director force her to take it down?

Posted by Miriam Schulman

Comments

mary said on Oct 29, 2009: yes Mary should reason out and take down the poster. yes, her beliefs matters but if the poster is offencive to many she shouldnt keep it, for she should concider other peoples emotions and feelings.rather then offending she could find other ways of showing her oppion on gay marriaage rather than offending.
trish said on Nov 26, 2009: mary has a right to express her feelings. the neighbour should also be mindful of others. mary did not put it on his door or applied it to him. he should mind his biz.maybe if it bugs him so much she could take it down if she wont mind
israel said on Dec 11, 2009: I think that she should not take it down, because people of this contry claims to live a FREE contry, so why people can't expres their llins? if we live in a FREE contry everyone is free do support in the way they fell like in what ever it is.
Holly said on Jan 22, 2010: Freedom of speach is our right in this country, Mary has the right to her opinion. She can voice it anyway she pleases. However she could take it down to keep peace in the dorm but if she feels so strongly no one can make her take it down.
Graham said on Jan 28, 2010: The comments on this page reflect terribly on the University. Are we really moving to a society that must express its views in 140 characters or less?
Dawn said on Feb 25, 2010: I must agree with Graham and if all points on this page are expressed by alumni, the English department has some ethics issues of it's own. No, Mary should not take the poster down. With this, Jim is free to put a poster UP. One that says, oh let's see, "No on Prop 8". Really, Jim. Grow up. This is not hate crime. This is an opinion. And as Americans, we are free to express them.
Moderator said on Mar 1, 2010: Just a clarification: This comments feature is open to everyone, so ideas and grammatical errors should not necessarily be attributed to Santa Clara University students.
Thomas said on Apr 3, 2010: I feel that making Mary to take down the poster would be infringing on her right to freely express her belief. For Jim to find it awfully offensive speaks volume of his tolerance of other people's views. I feel that Jim should let Mary be herself and not infringe on her right to freedom of expression.
Jess said on Apr 22, 2010: i feel that everyone should use this case and apply it to their own lives. if you saw something on someone's door that offended you, wouldn't you also like that person to take it down? the main theme here is consideration. yes, you are free to have your say, but not to that extent that you offend others. treat others as you would like to be treated. mary, take down the poster and stick it on the inside of your door or above your bed. that way you still have your say, but others won't be offended.
Andrew said on May 22, 2010: When you expose a simple message to other people are you trying to convert them, or just expose a bit of who you are and what you believe? A simple poster is not really persuasive; I would guess it is more an emblem and an invitation to further discussion. If you invite a discussion (fight) you should expect, and by implication want, to irritate some people. People who are irritated aren't entitled to freedom from that very common human feeling. Mary should keep her poster and James should try to date her, because that would be such a comedy! A romantic meeting of the left and right (or ying and yang, whatever) with hilarity the resulting love child. Anyway. Do we have to develop forbearance unless we have neighbors with opinions we don't like? Nope. I really hope James and Mary find their way through to understanding.
sharonshown@yahoo.com said on Jun 9, 2010: I couldn't disagree more with "Jess" when stated that it was okay to have your say as long as it 'didn't offend another'. The constitution gives each individual the right to 'freely exercise' speech and if it is offensive to another as long it wasn't a personal attack then the one who is offended has to become less 'thin-skinned' and more tolerant that there will be differing views of a particular issue and should welcome the diversity.
Fan said on Jun 15, 2010: While the Constitution guarantees certain free expressions, it is not an absolute right. If the dorm has a rule against political speech or campaigning, then Mary should take the poster down. Not doing so could send a message that the school supports her message. However, simply placing a poster up does not mean the school support it. A school does not endorse a message simply by allowing it or disallowing it as the Supreme Court has ruled. Nevertheless, without an actual incident Mary has a "right" to display the poster and James has a "right" to display a competing poster. While both parties interest ought to be respected, so must the interests of the school and others in the vicinity should be respected. For example, if both parties can come to a consensus that this poster has created a hostile environment for them and others, then Mary should remove it with the agreement that James will not put up a competing poster. While their rights are certainly limited, both have a duty to not create an environment hostile for learning and living just as much as employers have a duty to maintain a hostile-free environment for employees to work (and vice-versa with the employees). At the pinnacle, the residence hall's residents and leaders should commune and make a consensual decision that will respect everyone's interests.
Joe said on Nov 27, 2010: Why can't Mary just move the poster to the inside of her dorm? This would allow her to display her ideals and beliefs while taking a precaution to not offend anyone. That is just an idea for a suggestion because in my personal opinion James needs to "suck it up" so to speak. If no one is going out of their way to persecute or harm him then he should allow the freedoms that all deserve. James is free to support/be a homosexual(s) and Mary is free to voice her opinion and beliefs about what marriage is and is not. James needs to realize that the poster is not homophobic and has very little to do with 'gays' but more to do with the terms and definition of marriage than anything else.
Waldo said on Jan 22, 2011: The beauty in life is we given the choice of making a "right" decision. This being very subjective, there are simple guides one can use to make these more objective. Perhaps, the most used ethical guide is that of utilitarianism - do the most good, or do the least harm. In this case, Mary should remove the poster. One could argue this causes harm to Mary, but Mary can express her point of view in another way, hopefully one that will do its best not to hurt others. This creates a win-win situation - Mary can express her views and James is not harmed by the "offensive" poster. On the other hand, if Mary does not remove her poster, James has no choice whatsoever in choosing the harm done to him, harm which he has communicated to Mary. Harm in unethical.
Catherine said on Apr 4, 2011: James should hang up a poster that says "No on 8" - Each should show tolerance for the other's point of view.

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At the Center

Student Choices: My Poster; My Identity

Wednesday, Apr. 29, 2009

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