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Free Speech Faces Hostile Environment: An Aggressive Hunt For Sex Harassment Leaves Plenty Of Wreckage, Kenneth Lasson

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Take the case of James Maas, who has been teaching at Cornell University for more than 30 years and whose Psychology 101 is perhaps the largest undergraduate course in the country (attracting about 1,000 students every semester). He was won numerous teaching awards. In 1994, Mr. Maas was called before Cornell's "Professional Ethics Committee" to defend himself against charges of sexual harassment. The allegations centered around his "overly friendly and affectionate behavior" - which, it turns out, were hugs and occasional social kisses, most often in front of class or family.

The most notable example of a professor who stood …

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The Limits Of Legal Discourse: Learning From The Civil Rights Movement In The Quest For Gay And Lesbian Civil Rights, Odeana R. Neal

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The African-American struggle for civil rights has been a long one, one that began with the importation of the first black person into the country as a slave, and continues today. Through radical political struggle coupled with legal precedent, de jure segregation became a part of the past of the United States. Meticulous legal strategizing by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund culminated with the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which declared unconstitutional the governmental practice of segregating on the basis of race. Careful legislative lobbying—as well as the threats posed by radical black political groups who …

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