From: kadie@eff.org (Carl M. Kadie) Newsgroups: alt.comp.acad-freedom.talk,alt.censorship Subject: [IFreedom] U. of New Brunswick newspaper case - part 1 Date: 25 Nov 1993 14:59:58 -0500 Organization: Electronic Frontier Foundation Lines: 164 Message-ID: <2d32ru$p97@eff.org> [A repost, with the author's permission, from the Intellectual Freedom mailing list. To join the list, send email to listserv@snoopy.ucis.dal.ca with the line sub infreedom ] From AMEY@ac.dal.ca Thu Nov 25 14:51:39 1993 Originator: ifreedom@snoopy.ucis.dal.ca To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: UNB PROFESSOR PART I What follows is the article published by the University of New Brunswick student newspaper, the Brunswickan, by mathematics professor Matin Yaqzan. The article was clearly labelled: "Opinion." I will send further messages describing the outcome of the controversy to date, for those of you who are not familiar with the case. In the meantime, what do you think happened? Language changes with time: New words come into usage; some words acquire new meanings, and some become obsolete. While the dictionaires try to fix the meaning of words, they are only partially successful. Rape is one of the words, which seems to have changed its meaning, because of the revolution that has taken place during the last 30-40 years in the realm of human sexuality. For the vast majority of the individuals who have been on the planet Earth for less than 30 years, it is difficult to visualize the trauma, the suffering and the pain associated with the word "rape," not only for the victims, but her parents, relatives and even acquaintances and strangers. No doubt, unwanted sexual intercourse did take place in the past, but it was rare enough to arouse very strong emotions and passions. It was a far cry from the routine "date rape" of today. One can ask the question why? The main reasons for the change in attitude towards sexual intercourse have been the introduction of the pill in the late '50s and the teaching and preaching of those who believed the pre-marital sex would improve the quality of married life, and the consequent decline of the traditional religious values of sex and virginity. There are other reasons that are economical and cultural in nature. For example, the governments in the non-communist world were not supposed to be directly responsible for the well being of the children in a family. There was no concept of community responsibility for bringing up the children of a mother without a husband. There were no "single parents" except in the case of a widowed mother of a widower husband. A child born out of wedlock was frowned upon as a "bastard," a word that is still used to express one's disgust or distaste. The Canadian Federation of Students, in its publication The Student Advocate of September 1993, that I read only Oct. 23, published an article entitled Recognizing Date Rape when It Happens, written by Laura Penny. She describes two specific scenarios in which a boy is attracted to a girl reacts in a fashion that implies she likes him; they both drink and dance, and the boy takes her out of the dance hall, invites her to his apartment or room, to which the girl agrees. However, she does not like the sexual intercourse he subjects her to, and this is called date rape. Perhaps it should be mentioned that the human nature, in particular, the male's drive for sex, has not changed during the last few thousand years. There is a distinct difference between the roles that males and females play in the process of procreation. The male's aggressiveness is not a result of some social conditioning of a particular society. A young boy and a young girl were chaperoned in the past for the obvious reason that a boy could not be expected to be master of his sexual impulses. The custom among "civilized" peoples to keep most of the female body under cover, was to avoid unwanted male attraction. The use of the veil among Muslim women was initiated under similar considerations; it was not a ploy to subjugate women. The strong sexual attraction of the male towards the female is a fact of nature, and cannot be modified without providing adequate reasons and creating circumstances conductive to postsanctity of sex, or sexual intercourse, was enshrined in the past, almost universally, in some form of a marriage ceremony, and the male had to make a life-long commitment to the female to satisfy his sexual needs. Times have changed. Today the children are permitted to have sexual intercourse without any stigma attached to it. There is no concept of waiting until marriage. The only concern is to avoid disease, and therefore, the society is willing to provide condoms in shcool. For such boys, by the time they reach 17 or 18 years old, regular sexual intercourse must become a necessity. For those entering a university, the co-ed residences may be helpful, but they do not provide the opportunity for sexual gratification for all the male students, and therefore the reason and the need for the so-called "date-rape". It is obvious that a girl who had sexual intercourse with a large number of boys, would not suffer as a result of an unwanted sexual encounter to the same degree as a girl from whom it might be the first sexual experience. True, she might not be in a mood, or might find the act less than satisfying, but it would have to be far less traumatic than for a girl in the past who was a virgin. Today's girl has the added security that an abortionist would be only too glad to relieve her of any undesired pregnancy, without a sense of guilt. For the girls who believe in the traditional religions, and consider any sexual intercourse outside marriage a serious sin, to be punished by their God, "rape" must remain a terrifying prospect. Therefore, The girls who use the word "rape" to describe their dislike of a particular encounter in their endless sexual experiences, so a disservice to those who abide by the old traditions. While no amount of education or legal pronouncements would change the male nature, it would help if, besides being provided with condoms, the boys were also taught that the sexual needs of girls are very different than their own. Of course, the girls should be taught that while huging and kissing might be pleasant and adequate experiences for them, they are simply a prelude to sexual intercourse for the boys, and cannot be carried on indefinitely. When a boy invites a girl to his bedroom, especially after meeting her for the first time, she should consider it as an invitation for sexual intercourse. And, if a promiscuous girl becomes a victim of an unwanted sexual experience, it would be more reasonable for her to demand some monetary compensation for her inconvenience or discomfort, rather than express moral outrage, or try to arouse emotional response in others of the kind that the word "rape" evoked in yesteryears. - 30 - -- Carl Kadie -- I do not represent EFF; this is just me. =kadie@eff.org, kadie@cs.uiuc.edu = From: kadie@eff.org (Carl M. Kadie) Newsgroups: alt.comp.acad-freedom.talk,alt.censorship Subject: [IFreedom] U. of New Brunswick newspaper case - part 1 Date: 25 Nov 1993 15:00:47 -0500 Organization: Electronic Frontier Foundation Lines: 56 Message-ID: <2d32tf$paa@eff.org> [A repost, with the author's permission, from the Intellectual Freedom mailing list. To join the list, send email to listserv@snoopy.ucis.dal.ca with the line sub infreedom ] From AMEY@ac.dal.ca Thu Nov 25 14:51:39 1993 Originator: ifreedom@snoopy.ucis.dal.ca To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: UNB PROF PART II As soon as the article on date rape written by mathematics Professor Yaqzan was published in the student newspaper at The university of New Brunswick a great outcry took place. One of the reasons for the response may have the fact that Yaqzan's remarks were selectively quoted in the regular newspapers and on the other media. (I could not locate a full text until it was finally published on the weekend in the Halifax Daily News and today in the Ottawa Citizen) Students were quick to react. They printed up posters and handouts demanding that Yaqzan be removed from classes. Their argument was that they would not feel comfortable in a class taught by someone who espoused such views. At no time, however, did anyone suggest that Yaqzan had expressed his views on date rape in his classes. On Nov 12 Yaqzan was suspended and ordered to stay off of the campus. Yaqzan is a tenured professor who has taught at UNB for 27 years. The suspension is with pay. At the same time, the university initiated a full review of his performance and professional responsibility. "I am very concerned about the negative and incorrect impression of UNB created by Prof Yaqzan's recent editorial on date rape" stated UNB President Robin Armstrong. "We wish to maintain the trust of taxpaying citizens who support us, the parents whose children are enrolled here and the students themselves." Armstrong went on to comment:" Prof Yaqzan presented his personal views in professional disguise. Writing as a professor in a university publication, he implied an authority that was neither appropriate or real. Freedom of speech does not equal irresponsible speech." - 30 - ================== -- Carl Kadie -- I do not represent EFF; this is just me. =kadie@eff.org, kadie@cs.uiuc.edu = From: kadie@eff.org (Carl M. Kadie) Newsgroups: alt.comp.acad-freedom.talk,alt.censorship Subject: [IFreedom] U. of New Brunswick newspaper case - part 3 Date: 25 Nov 1993 15:01:45 -0500 Organization: Electronic Frontier Foundation Lines: 40 Message-ID: <2d32v9$pb5@eff.org> [A repost, with the author's permission, from the Intellectual Freedom mailing list. To join the list, send email to listserv@snoopy.ucis.dal.ca with the line sub infreedom ] From AMEY@ac.dal.ca Thu Nov 25 14:51:18 1993 Originator: ifreedom@snoopy.ucis.dal.ca To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: UNB PROF PART III After the appearance of Professor Yaqsan's article and his subsequence suspension a number of commentaries were given on television, radio and in the press. Basil Deakin in the Halifax Mail Star observed that: "One can appreciate the university authorities' concern that male students might interpret this as professorial sanction for forced sex. But the expression of such opinions, however at variance with currently popular theories about the prevalence of date rape, cannot justify the suspension of a full professor. That the university authorities have taken this step ... indicates that they have been intimidated by noisy critics of the professor's non-syllabus opinions." Meanwhile, the union representing the faculty at UNB expressed their concern. Jack Van der Linde, president of the union, indicated that a grievance might be filed and that:"My view is that Professor Yaqsan was exercising his civil right to express an opinion and that the taking of job action based on that is a very dubious procedure." - 30 - -- Carl Kadie -- I do not represent EFF; this is just me. =kadie@eff.org, kadie@cs.uiuc.edu = From: kadie@eff.org (Carl M. Kadie) Newsgroups: alt.comp.acad-freedom.talk,alt.censorship Subject: [IFreedom] U. of New Brunswick newspaper case - part 4 Date: 25 Nov 1993 15:02:47 -0500 Organization: Electronic Frontier Foundation Lines: 39 Message-ID: <2d3317$pbs@eff.org> [A repost, with the author's permission, from the Intellectual Freedom mailing list. To join the list, send email to listserv@snoopy.ucis.dal.ca with the line sub infreedom ] From AMEY@ac.dal.ca Thu Nov 25 14:51:39 1993 Originator: ifreedom@snoopy.ucis.dal.ca To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: UNB PROF PART IV Professor Yaqzan's suspension for writing a controversial article on date rape in an opinion column of the UNB student newspaper was lifted on November 20th. However, the university stated that his duties would be reassigned and he would not return to the classroom until next term. Today, a Canadian Press article reports that the student union at UNB feels cheated by the administration's hasty retreat. The university and the professor's union had issued terse news releases stating that Yaqzan was no longer suspended. Representatives of the students union said that the administration had not dealt with the legitimate concerns of students, many of whom were deeply offended by Yaqzan's beliefs. Yaqzan's daughter appeared on radio today to defend her father's views. And that is the story to date. Does anyone else want to comment? -- Carl Kadie -- I do not represent EFF; this is just me. =kadie@eff.org, kadie@cs.uiuc.edu = Newsgroups: alt.feminism From: ah158@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Jiri Severa) Subject: Date Rape Prof Hangs'em Up Message-ID: Sender: news@freenet.carleton.ca Organization: The National Capital FreeNet, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Date: Wed, 5 Jan 1994 18:05:25 GMT Lines: 61 _Date Rape_ Professor Retires * unauthorised reprint of a Canadian Press dispatch * Fredericton - A professor who caused an international storm of controversy at the University of New Brunswick has helped to defuse the situation by taking early retirement. A university spokeswoman said yesterday that Matin Yaqzan, a tenured assistant professor of mathematics, has agreed to vol- untary early retirement. Prof. Yaqzan ignited a furious debate two months ago with a published opinion piece on date rape - which included his view that date rape may be a necessary outlet for the sexual needs of young men. Prof. Yaqzan was suspended, then reinstated, although he was not allowed back into the classroom. Neither the university nor Prof. Yaqzan gave any details of the retirement package, but sources at the university say Prof. Yaqzan's golden handshake includes a full pension and three years' full pay. The assistant professor who had been at the university for 27 years, was earning $60,100 annually. An assistant professor retiring after 34 years receives a pension of about $31,000. The Yaqzan affair focused national and international att- ention on the quiet Fredericton campus of the University of New Brunswick. But Prof. Yaqzan remained unavailable to reporters. He said he would grant interviews only to news organizations willing to pay him thousands of dollars. None took him up on the offer. ------- A few words on the accuracy of this report : The dispatch is misleading if it implies that Prof. Yaqzan's article sparked a debate on his date rape views. No discussion has taken place in the national media in which someone actually defended the professor's opinions. Even those who defended Yaqzan's right to express his views agreed unanimously that his ideas were outlandish, ill-informed and poorly constructed as an argument. The sole source of debate and controversy was Prof. Yaqzan's right to free speech. Second point: Prof. Yaqzan issued a statement in which he denied that he in any way condoned any form of rape. The above dispatch states that the professor holds the view that 'date rape maybe a necessary outlet for the sexual needs of young men.' That of course is the view of the correspondent. Yaqzan's article suggests that 'the reason and the need for the so-called date rape' stems from the fact that for today's young men of 18 regular sex 'must become a necessity'. I think a fair-minded person would conclude, in the light of Prof. Yaqzan's dementi, that his other problems, whatever they may be, are compounded by his poor grasp of English idiom. >>> >>> - I am barren. I can love noone, only humanity... Adios, >>> Today we go into world-wide operation.......... >>> - The world has fallen into the hands of an insane Jiri >>> female psychiatrist. >>> >>> Friedrich Durrenmatt, The Physicists >>>