Dealing With Political Incorrectness

Queen's hires people to monitor conversations on campus
November 19, 2008
Students who make politically incorrect comments at Queen’s University can expect a lecture, whether they’re in or out of class, the Canadian Press reports.
The university has hired student facilitators to step in if they overhear students making homophobic or racial slurs, remarks bashing women or other offensive language.
The dean of student affairs at Queen’s says if students are making offensive comments loud enough for others to hear, it’s not a private conversation anymore.
Jason Laker says the facilitators use a respectful, non-confrontational approach.
But Angela Hickman, who edits a campus newspaper, says having such a program could stifle public discussion
---------------taken from The Whig website----------

This is amazing.
On the same day that the Principal "cancels" fall homecoming, the university acknowledges that there are students who are "trained" to help other students see the error of their speech.
The question is: Is this the best way to let people know that they should respect others?
How about parents teaching their children (and setting a good example) that calling people names isn't a positive way to live? When are parents going to teach their children some manners and how to behave?
Sure, people feel stressed, unimportant and lots of other things, but it's time for adults to teach their off-spring how to behave.
It's no wonder we see such dreadful behaviour in the House, and that TV viewers think it is OK to behave like this. It's NOT OK.
It's long past time when our leaders demonstrated civility. Perhaps our students would see that one can be oneself and express an opinion without using labels for people.

And, while we are on this topic, those who are in classrooms will attest to distrespectful behaviour by students. I spoke yesterday with someone recently retired from the classroom. He can recount endless stories of lack of respect and mouthy students. He said he was glad to leave. And these were young people, some of whom will end up at Queen's (and other universities). When he "called" them on this sort of behaviour, on one occasion he was reported to the principal!
I call this "doing what a teacher should be doing."