Dartblog

At Queen’s University in Ontario, restrictions on free speech on one college campus has been taken to a new level. The university has hired “dialogue facilitators” who will intervene in student conversations to promote correct speech and sensitive terminology. These ‘facilitators’ will not be present in classrooms but rather, because they are also students at the college, will perform their job specifically in dining hall, common areas, dormitories, etc. I put ‘facilitators’ in quotes because I think it is pretty clear to anyone who has attended college or possesses common sense that these folks will not be facilitating much of anything. Rather, conversations that may have formerly and freely grappled with issues like religion, sexual orientation, public policies, etc will surely turn to inhibited and self-conscious mush. That or students will simply turn their conversations to less stimulating, but normatively safer areas of discourse (sports, for example, rather than sociology). Further, I suspect that, once widely known, students will not hold conversations within a hundred-foot radius of these people.

One facilitator describes his role as follows:

“We are trained to interrupt behaviour in a non-blameful and non-judgmental manner, so it’s not like we’re pulling someone aside and reprimanding them about their behaviour. It is honestly trying to get to the root of what they’re trying to say - seeing if that can be said in a different manner.”

The only fortunate thing about the program appears to be that there are only six such facilitators out of a campus of thousands of students. Still the chilling effect on speech may remain, somebody may be listening to what you say and preparing to reeducate you. So much for even the pretense of free speech and open exchange.