ONCE AGAIN, I find out what’s going on at my own campus via Eugene Volokh’s weblog. Here’s the story:

None of the six Kappa Sigma fraternity members at the University of Tennessee will face disciplinary action by UT for allegedly painting their faces black for a party.

Although UT-Knoxville’s Kappa Sigma chapter was suspended by the fraternity’s national headquarters due to the incident, both the fraternity and individual members are protected from official school sanctions by the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech, according to an “overview” of the Oct. 22 incident released by UT.

“Controversy and debate are a normal part of life at a university, and (UT) is firmly committed to protecting the constiutional rights of freedom of speech and expression – even when some find it to be insensitve and offensive,” said the UT report.

It took them a while to come around, but they did come around. Good for them.