Professor now in question

Before we consider the words written by Professor Rasmusen, we need to consider the forum in which they are found. The forum in this case is his personal home pages at "mypage.iu.edu" (formerly PHP). I believe that use of these facilities is governed by the policy "Computer Users" Privileges and Responsibilities." It seems to me that the pertinent passages fall under the title: Censorship.\nFree expression of ideas is central to the academic process. IU computer system administrators will not remove any information from individual accounts unless the appropriate system administrator finds that:\n• The presence of the information involves illegality (e.g., copyrighted material, software used in violation of a license agreement).\n• The information in some way endangers computing resources or the information of other users (e.g., a computer worm, virus or other destructive program).\n• The information is inappropriate, because it is unrelated to or is inconsistent with the mission of the University, involves the use of obscene, bigoted or abusive material on IU resources, or is otherwise not in compliance with the legal and ethical usage responsibilities listed in the section, "Responsibilities of the User."\nTo my knowledge, IU has never used the controversial comments of others as an excuse to censor any member of the academic community and I am pleased that they have decided not to censor Professor Rasmusen. \nThat said, Professor Rasmusen's comments reflect his ignorance of the subject about which he was writing but they do not justify censorship! Had his comments been regarding any other minority group, his stereotypes would have been tantamount to racial profiling and on that basis alone those comments should be rejected out of hand. \nIronically, in his own words he admits he has no data to back up his assertions but, as the home of the Kinsey Institute, IU is one of the few places he should be able to find the data to test his assertions regarding human sexual behavior -- were he interested in exploring the truth of the matter. \nOthers have objected to the fact that Professor Rasmusen's comments were placed on institutionally-owned Web servers but those servers carry the following statement:\nDisclaimer:\nThis personal home page service is designed to provide Indiana University faculty, staff and students with an opportunity to present themselves and their personal interests and opinions, as well as to learn and exercise web development techniques and accomplish class assignments in various disciplines. Indiana University does NOT review the content of personal web pages maintained by individuals using this service except in response to a complaint that the pages contain material that violates the law or University policy. The University accepts no responsibility for the content of personal home pages.\nFree expression of ideas is a central value within the academy. Some materials displayed on pages in this service may be objectionable or offensive to some visitors, but that does not necessarily mean that the material is illegal or that it violates Indiana University policy. Absent a violation of law or University policy, the University will not take action with respect to material on a personal home page. \nThis language is clear and readers of this material have no basis for calling for the University to censor anyone for expressing controversial opinions therein. \nThe question has been raised as to whether or not Professor Rasmusen should be held to a higher standard than his students, or the larger non-collegiate community. In my opinion, the answer to this question is ... \nYES! \nAs a representative of the academic community, Professor Rasmusen does have an obligation to consider the consequences of careless remarks made at the expense of others. That said, each of us share a similar responsibility within our own "sphere of influence." \nTo that end, Professor Rasmusen must deal with the fallout from his remarks among his colleagues, his students and those who might consider whether his judgment as a member of the faculty of IU is now in question.