The following two excerpts are about free speech on university campuses which has been recently questioned. Defenders argue that

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问题    The following two excerpts are about free speech on university campuses which has been recently questioned. Defenders argue that it should be protected but there has been criticism about the unconditional abuse of free speech.
   Write an article of NO LESS THAN 300 WORDS, in which you should:
   1.   summarize the different opinions about free speech on university campuses and their reasons and then
   2.   express your opinion towards this issue, especially whether the drawbacks brought by the censorship of free speech on university campuses outweigh its merits.
   Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.
   Write your article on ANSWER SHEET FOUR.
   Excerpt 1
                             The US: Free Speech and Universities
   When Louisiana State University fired a professor in June 2015 for using rude words in a class, it was an early skirmish in a conflict between students and faculties over free speech that has since spread across the land.
   Recently,  the  debate   over  permissible   speech  on  college   campuses   has   only   become  more contentious. A website, thedemands. org, lists speech-curbing demands from students at 72 institutions. Administrators are tying themselves in knots in an effort to balance a commitment to free expression with a desire not to offend.
   One consequence of this has been to call attention to the Chicago Statement, which has been adopted by several prestigious universities such as Princeton and Johns Hopkins. The statement is brief and emphatic.
   " It is not the proper role of the university to attempt to shield individuals from ideas and opinions they find unwelcome, disagreeable, or even deeply offensive," it states. "Concerns about civility and mutual respect can never be used as justification for closing off discussion of ideas, however offensive or disagreeable. " The responsibility of a university, it concludes, is not only to promote " fearless freedom of debate" , but also to protect it.
   The committee gave much consideration to concerns about "hate speech" and "micro-aggressions". Whatever harm such expression caused, it concluded, should be redressed by " individual members of the university openly and vigorously contesting the ideas that they oppose," rather than by censorship.
   The widening adoption of the statement came as a surprise, says Mr. Stone, because it was built upon the college’s own history. The proper response to unpopular ideas, responded Mr. Stone, "lies through discussion rather than inhibition".
   Excerpt 2
      China Defends Its Curb on Free Speech on University Campuses
   China has defended its right to censor free speech on university campuses or the Internet by university students or faculties in a document laying out the government’s attitude towards this issue.
   It says the country has the right to govern the free speech principles according to its own rules inside its borders.
   The white paper also reveals just how fast speech spreads owing to the development of the Internet in China in the 16 years since it was first connected.
   In the document the government lays out some of the reasons why its university students and teachers cannot talk freely either in classrooms or on the net.
   It says it wants to curb the harmful effects of illegal information on state security and public interests.
   " Laws and regulations clearly prohibit the spread of information that contains content subverting state power, undermining national unity or infringing upon national honor and interests," it says.
   " The university, as a forum for the pursuit and attainment of knowledge in every field of human endeavor, has a special role in fostering free inquiry, yet it must not immune itself from scrutiny," it claims.
   Although the university values the civil and courteous exchange of viewpoints, it does limit discussions because the ideas expressed might be thought offensive, immoral, disrespectful, or even dangerous. Similarly, discriminatory harassment is especially prohibited on campuses which includes, among other things, "negative stereotyping" and "denigrating jokes" because these types of speech may be "objectionable," "offensive," and "disrespectful".
   "Within Chinese territory, everyone is under the jurisdiction of Chinese sovereignty. " it says.

选项

答案 No Muzzle over Free Speech on University Campuses Recently, the debate over free speech on college campuses has only become more contentious. A well-known proclamation called Chicago Statement urges universities not to censor opinions from campuses on the ground of being disagreeable or even offensive. However, in response to more severe hate speech or aggressive one, instead of muzzling it, universities should redress it by openly contesting the ideas. Conversely, China tightens its control over free speech in universities by emphasizing its national right to protect state security and public and individual interests. Published in 1949, a classic dystopian novel 1984 shocked the world into a new recognition of the crushing power of the notorious Big Brother—the epitomized tyranny and totalitarian society in which almost every move of individuals is carefully monitored and ruthlessly suppressed under its omnipresent umbrella. Almost 70 years later, the tight censorship both at home and abroad on free speech on university campuses will undoubtedly have a chilling effect. A principal reason why universities have endured and flourished over centuries is that it provides a heaven for ideas to be tested, for values to be questioned, and for minds to be challenged and changed with as few constraints as possible. Like a miniature of society, the university should foster an accommodating climate in which ideas can be expressed freely however unwelcome or even offensive they appear if they are propagated for the pure sake of discussion rather than the ill intention of subverting the government or harassing other free speakers. Governments open to dissenting opinions and ready to redress their inevitable errors should have these to thank for. Universities, the cradle of expressive rights, should be shown green light to in this respect. However, the ill-intended and illegal information, either from mud-slinging rumormongers or masked traitors should not be included in the unfettered category. Universities, in tight symbiotic relationship with our nation, should have a stricter self-government in the civility and courtesy in expression.

解析    本题谈论的是大学校园应不应该实行言论自由。选段1:由大学教授被开除这一事件引出话题,接着指出多所名校采用“芝加哥声明”,声明指出,大学校园中的言论自由应该被保护,不好的言论应公开辩论,而不是镇压。而选段2以中国政府为例,说明控制大学校园言论的必要性。本题的写作重点在于首先概括双方关于是否应该支持大学校园言论自由的观点,并概述各自的原因,其次重点论述控制大学言论自由是否弊大于利。
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