IT’S SAD THAT THIS KIND OF THING IS NEWS: U. of Maryland’s President Loh Responds to Offensive Email, Remembers First Amendment.

Public college presidents are sometimes faced with pressure to expel or otherwise punish students expressing controversial or offensive opinions, even if the speech is unquestionably protected by the First Amendment. The University of Oklahoma’s (OU’s) President David Boren and the University of Maryland’s (UMD’s) President Wallace Loh both faced this pressure recently.

On March 10, Boren, ignoring due process and the First Amendment rights he is bound to uphold, chose to expel two students who were among those filmed singing a racist fraternity chant. Boren’s eagerness to oppose racism is understandable, but his willingness to disregard students’ rights in the process is not.

Loh recently faced a similar situation when a racist and sexist email sent from a student and Kappa Sigma fraternity member at UMD was uncovered. Yesterday, Loh emailed his campus regarding the outcome of UMD’s investigation into the email. Loh, succeeding where Boren failed, spoke out against the email and attested to the harm it caused to the campus community, but recognized that the speech was protected by the First Amendment and thus did not seek to punish the student responsible for it. . . .

Loh recognized that the student’s speech was constitutionally protected and could not be penalized at a public university. He also reaffirmed UMD’s role as a place where offensive speech is countered with more speech, not punished.

But, alas, this kind of thing is newsworthy today.