tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/yale-university-3468/articlesYale university – The Conversation2024-01-28T19:05:07Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2147122024-01-28T19:05:07Z2024-01-28T19:05:07ZDo we want a wind farm outside our window? What Australians think about the net zero transition<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557393/original/file-20231103-19-qqubic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1735%2C1796&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/man-in-white-dress-shirt-and-blue-denim-jeans-sitting-on-white-and-black-solar-panel-wmaP3Tl80ww">Bill Mead, Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A paradox lies at the heart of Australian public opinion about climate change. While there is clear general support for substantial government action to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, there is also strong concern about the local impacts of new renewable energy infrastructure. </p>
<p>The rise of protest groups in regional Australia objecting to the installation of wind farms and transmission lines, in particular, presents a serious challenge to the Albanese government in communicating the importance of the net zero transition to the public.</p>
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<p>In principle it seems that Australians strongly support this transition. In a poll for the Australia Institute’s <a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Climate-of-the-Nation-2023-Web.pdf">Climate of the Nation report</a> last year, two in three respondents went as far as to say our country should be a world leader in climate action.</p>
<p>Similarly, a 2020 <a href="https://bridges.monash.edu/articles/report/Australia_s_Clean_Technology_Future_Audience_Perceptions_and_Message_Framing/23896950">Monash University study</a> found eight out of ten Australians think the shift to renewable energy is inevitable, and two-thirds think we should be exporting renewable energy.</p>
<p>Studies also show <a href="https://doi.org/10.25919/fqbk-0y13">strong support</a> for renewable energy production through solar farms, with 90% of Australians prepared to live within ten kilometres of one, according to a 2021 CSIRO study. And a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/31/guardian-essential-poll-results-labor-net-zero-climate-change-renewables#:%7E:text=The%20poll%20found%2038%25%20of,height%20of%20black%20summer%20bushfires.">Guardian Essential poll</a> from October last year found about 70% of respondents supported solar farms and 60% supported both offshore and onshore wind farms.</p>
<h2>Local opposition to the net zero transition</h2>
<p>But at the same time the installation of these same wind farms has attracted strong local protests, especially in NSW and Victoria. There has also been <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-clean-energy-grid-means-10-000km-of-new-transmission-lines-they-can-only-be-built-with-community-backing-187438">significant community pushback</a> to the Australian Energy Market Operator’s plan to install 10,000 kilometres of overground transmission lines, which are key to carrying renewable energy to the electricity grid. Only 35% of respondents in the Guardian Essential poll supported them. </p>
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<p>In an equally serious challenge for the net zero transition, 70% of respondents felt renewable energy should not be developed “at the expense of local communities”.</p>
<p>In a bid to address these concerns, the Australian Energy Market Commission has drafted <a href="https://www.aemc.gov.au/news-centre/media-releases/final-community-engagement-rules-major-transmission-projects">new community engagement rules</a> to ensure communities are involved early in the process of designing the routes of transmission lines.</p>
<p>The changes seek to ensure all stakeholders get information about a project in a clear and timely fashion (including advice on how they can best play a role) and have opportunities to be regularly involved throughout the planning of projects.</p>
<h2>A more nuanced look at public opinion</h2>
<p>There might be an even bigger issue that helps to explain the tension between apparent general support for acting to arrest global warming and local opposition to specific renewable energy projects. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352154621000929?via%3Dihub">Segmentation studies</a>, first undertaken in 2008 by researchers at Yale and George Mason Universities in the United States, and replicated in many countries, including Australia, are valuable for explaining this apparent paradox.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-laggard-to-leader-why-australia-must-phase-out-fossil-fuel-exports-starting-now-219912">From laggard to leader? Why Australia must phase out fossil fuel exports, starting now</a>
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<p>These studies break down views on climate change into segments of the population with different levels of concern. The <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352154621000929?via%3Dihub">original research</a> divided American popular opinion into six groups: Alarmed, Concerned, Cautious, Disengaged, Doubtful and Dismissive. </p>
<p>The spectrum ranges from those most worried about climate change and who tend to take the most action, both in their personal lives and politically, to those who either don’t accept climate change is happening, or feel it isn’t something we need to address.</p>
<p>A range of segmentation studies conducted in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17524032.2022.2048407">2011, 2016, 2020</a> <a href="https://sunriseproject.org/compass/">and 2022</a> by researchers from both Australia and the US show Australians have become more worried over time. The Alarmed segment more than doubled between 2011 and 2022.</p>
<p>However, the studies show different segments of the population have different views of when we need to act to arrest climate change. </p>
<p>For example, the <a href="https://sunriseproject.org/compass/">2022 Climate Compass report</a> highlights that people in the Concerned segment — the largest group, comprising one in four Australians — feel climate change is a serious problem but that its impacts will be most felt by future generations. These Australians see cost of living as a much more urgent problem. </p>
<p>While the polling data do not show whether many protesters against renewable energy projects belong to the Concerned segment of the population, it remains essential to explore communication strategies that might move the large numbers of Australians who identify as Concerned into the Alarmed camp. One way to do this might be on the nightly TV news. </p>
<h2>Looking more closely at the weather</h2>
<p>From flooding to heat, many Australian extreme weather records <a href="https://climateextremes.org.au/stateof2022/">have been broken</a> in recent years. Some people feel that is part and parcel of living in Australia, and remain unaware of the connection between climate change and the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather. And it can be difficult to translate complex climate phenomena into terms the public can easily understand.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-beat-rollout-rage-the-environment-versus-climate-battle-dividing-regional-australia-213863">How to beat 'rollout rage': the environment-versus-climate battle dividing regional Australia</a>
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<p>Yet while the research is not conclusive, there is <a href="https://theconversation.com/extreme-weather-events-are-exactly-the-time-to-talk-about-climate-change-heres-why-210412#:%7E:text=But%20research%20offers%20contrasting%20results,these%20effects%20are%20only%20temporary.">good evidence</a> that floods, fires and heat waves increase popular concern about global warming by exposing the connection between extreme weather and climate change. <a href="https://www.monash.edu/mcccrh/publications/reports/a-survey-of-australian-tv-audiences-views-on-climate-change">Research from our centre</a> argues that weather presenters can play a greater role in making this connection clearer. Australians see weather presenters, along with climate scientists, farmers and fire fighters, as the most trusted sources of information about climate change. </p>
<h2>Looking ahead</h2>
<p>Whether or not we fully understand the ways climate change is impacting our society, most Australians realise it’s only going to get worse unless we do something about it. We’ve now moved into the implementation phase of the net zero transition, but many doubt that we’ll achieve it in time. The Guardian Essential poll <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/31/guardian-essential-poll-results-labor-net-zero-climate-change-renewables#:%7E:text=The%20poll%20found%2038%25%20of,height%20of%20black%20summer%20bushfires.">showed just 31% of respondents</a> felt it was “very” or “quite” likely Australia would achieve its net zero target.</p>
<p>Therefore, it is crucial that we ramp up action towards transforming our energy sector, but it’s equally important that communities be part of deciding how this is achieved. In doing so, we can improve public support, and bring net zero within reach. </p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lucy Richardson has received funding from the Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation for research on community attitudes to renewable energy. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ella Healy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australians want government to act on climate change, but not necessarily now, or in their neighbourhood. How can governments resolve this dilemma?Lucy Richardson, Post Doctoral Research Fellow, Monash Climate Change Communication Research Hub, Monash UniversityElla Healy, Operations Manager, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2146352023-10-04T20:30:38Z2023-10-04T20:30:38ZAre We Dating The Same Guy? Online groups toe the line between protecting women and defaming men<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551207/original/file-20230929-19-y6jzfd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=100%2C90%2C6609%2C4376&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Social media sites have given many the potential to reach millions of people instantly. With that reach, the risks and impacts of defamation can be far greater.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/are-we-dating-the-same-guy-online-groups-toe-the-line-between-protecting-women-and-defaming-men" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Infidelity and deception have always been part of dating and relationships. Traditionally managed privately between the parties or through legal processes, these issues have recently been co-opted by online vigilante communities that <a href="https://medium.com/sexography/are-we-dating-the-same-guy-has-become-a-hate-group-to-slander-innocent-men-a5f3a575585c">shame daters</a> — men in particular — who behave badly. </p>
<p>But are these online communities about more than shaming? Do they also safeguard women from getting exploited or hurt? </p>
<p>These questions are being debated in London, Ont., where a man featured on the Facebook group “Are We Dating the Same Guy? London, Ontario” <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/are-we-dating-the-same-guy-facebook-group-london-ontario-1.6937007">launched a defamation lawsuit</a> against one of its administrators alleging he was called names, accused of sending lewd photos and labelled a bad parent.</p>
<p>As scholars who specialize in dating culture and defamation, this case is intriguing to us for the legal precedent it may set. It could also have far-reaching implications for people in the online dating world and anyone using social networking platforms.</p>
<p>Social media sites enable users to potentially reach millions of people instantly. With that reach, the risks and impacts of defamation can be far greater.</p>
<p>As university educators working in environments where online dating is widespread and incidents of gender-based and sexual violence <a href="https://ontariosuniversities.ca/student-voices-on-sexual-violence-survey">occur often</a>, we’re also interested in what this case could mean for university students.</p>
<h2>Are We Dating The Same Guy?</h2>
<p>The first group was launched on Facebook in New York in 2022 by women who wanted to protect one another from men who cheat, are violent or exploit them financially. </p>
<p>Since then, groups have sprouted up in hundreds of cities across <a href="https://mashable.com/article/are-we-dating-the-same-guy-facebook">North America</a>, <a href="https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/podcasts/veille-sanitaire/veille-sanitaire-du-vendredi-02-juin-2023-4425553">Europe</a>, the <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/insider/are-we-dating-the-same-guy-inside-the-facebook-group-where-women-vet-men-they-re-talking-to-dating-apps-b1058726.html">United Kingdom</a> and <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/dating/inside-wild-dating-groups-exposing-australian-men/news-story/616da5fa9c3335d4af90cff25811b531">Australia</a>. Men in Toronto have retaliated by also creating their own Facebook page: <a href="https://streetsoftoronto.com/are-we-dating-the-same-girl-facebook-group-toronto/">Are We Dating the Same Girl?</a></p>
<p>Members of the women’s groups post information about “red flag” men using screenshots of dating app profiles, text exchanges and sometimes memes. <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy375q/are-we-dating-the-same-guy-facebook-groups">Many posts</a> are anonymous, contain trigger warnings and are difficult to read because they detail awful instances of coercion, assault, racism, extortion and abuse.</p>
<p>However, the degree to which these groups actually protect women is up for debate and so is the purpose they serve. In some instances, these groups may be used to make <a href="https://www.bendsource.com/news/are-we-dating-the-same-guy-yes-19906004">false claims</a> about men. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551210/original/file-20230929-29-bmdb1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A smartphone display with different dating app icons" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551210/original/file-20230929-29-bmdb1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551210/original/file-20230929-29-bmdb1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551210/original/file-20230929-29-bmdb1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551210/original/file-20230929-29-bmdb1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551210/original/file-20230929-29-bmdb1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551210/original/file-20230929-29-bmdb1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551210/original/file-20230929-29-bmdb1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Online dating has proliferated in recent years and groups have popped up to highlight daters who behave badly.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<h2>Online dating groups</h2>
<p>Online posts stating that someone has behaved poorly in the dating context could be considered defamatory. Men whose reputations suffer from the information featured in the groups <a href="https://theintercept.com/2023/07/22/metoo-defamation-lawsuits-slapp/">could sue</a> the people posting and the group administrators for defamation, especially if they are of high social or professional standing and have a lot to lose.</p>
<p>Post-writers might <a href="https://doi.org/10.3138/cjwl.34.1.03">defend themselves</a> against accusations of defamation through the defence of “truth.” The rationale for this defence is that a person cannot sue for reputational harm if the statement made about them is in fact true. </p>
<p>However, this defence would require posters to prove their allegations are true. We know from <a href="https://doi.org/10.3138/cjwl.22.2.397">decades of experience</a> that this can be especially difficult in stereotypical “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1350/ijep.2009.13.4.329">he said/she said</a>” situations. </p>
<p>Post-writers might also raise a “qualified privilege” defence. This protects someone against civil liability for defamatory statements made to <a href="https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2013/2013onsc4796/2013onsc4796.html?autocompleteStr=vanderkooy&autocompletePos=1">protect the interests</a> of another party, a common interest or the public interest. </p>
<p>Although these groups were established to protect women from toxic or dangerous men, it’s unclear whether group members have a legal or moral duty to share and receive this information, which is the hallmark of qualified privilege.</p>
<p>If any information is shared with malice or includes statements that exceed what is necessary to protect someone’s interests, the post-writers cannot rely on this defence. This means that vitriolic statements or gratuitous complaints about someone’s dating behaviour aren’t protected by qualified privilege. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551208/original/file-20230929-17-kdrt13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A women on a laptop with a pensive look on her face." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551208/original/file-20230929-17-kdrt13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551208/original/file-20230929-17-kdrt13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551208/original/file-20230929-17-kdrt13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551208/original/file-20230929-17-kdrt13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551208/original/file-20230929-17-kdrt13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551208/original/file-20230929-17-kdrt13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551208/original/file-20230929-17-kdrt13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Posters can defend themselves by saying their comments are truthful. But that can often be hard to prove in court.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<h2>Gender-based violence on campus</h2>
<p>Online dating, social media posting and defamation have unique implications for university campuses where additional dynamics are at play. </p>
<p>Students who experience distressing dating experiences, including gender-based and sexual violence, may post the names and photos of the perpetrators online to call out violence and protect fellow students. However, in doing so they could be vulnerable to defamation suits if they cannot legally prove that the statements are true. </p>
<p>Individuals labelled offenders could <a href="https://yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/server/api/core/bitstreams/cc69509d-8744-4ad6-a7aa-493332530f4b/content">bring defamation claims</a> or complaints against their accusers under student codes of conduct. </p>
<p>This happened at Yale University when a former <a href="https://apnews.com/article/yale-rape-acquittal-colleges-sexual-assault-1d74bbe89517db23c49a4a098186bd89">student was sued for defamation</a> after she reported that a fellow student had raped her. In 2018, a fired Yukon College instructor also <a href="https://www.yukon-news.com/news/fired-yukon-college-instructor-sues-student-over-sex-assault-allegations/">sued a student</a> who accused him of sexual assault and posted about it online.</p>
<p>Such cases could escalate campus tensions regarding safety issues and make it harder for people to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-07-2022-0228">come forward about sexual assault</a>, which are already infrequent due to fears of being disbelieved, shamed by peers or reliving the traumas related to the events. </p>
<h2>More safeguards needed</h2>
<p>The romantic escapades of celebrities once dominated news headlines, but in our digital society, anyone’s dating life can be thrust into the spotlight. Are We Dating the Same Guy? groups highlight the thorny social and legal implications of posting what could be considered defamatory content. </p>
<p>The proliferation of these groups across the globe means we must reflect on the complicated world of online dating, where there is little protection for daters and few ramifications for people who behave badly. </p>
<p>The potential for students to be pulled into similarly complex legal battles is equally important to consider. To safeguard students, universities should ensure they are able to come forward about abuse, whether to file formal complaints or to obtain other supports. </p>
<p>Universities should also consider distributing information about online dating and social media issues so students better understand their rights and risks when it comes to gender-based and sexual violence, dating and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emospa.2023.100975">campus safety</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214635/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Social media groups have emerged designed to protect women from bad dating experiences. Those who use them could be liable to being sued for defamation.Treena Orchard, Associate Professor, School of Health Studies, Western UniversityErika Chamberlain, Professor and Dean, Faculty of Law, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/781672017-06-13T02:58:07Z2017-06-13T02:58:07ZFuture of unions in balance as Trump prepares to reshape national labor board<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173430/original/file-20170612-7026-1vr79yp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Yale University graduate students have sought to form a union for more than a decade. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Bob Child</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last October, employees of the Elderwood Nursing Home in Grand Island, New York, <a href="https://www.1199seiu.org/upstateny/victory-elderwood">voted</a> to unionize after years of dealing with short staffing, stagnant wages and problems with management. Six months later, the company has yet to come to the bargaining table, claiming that there are unresolved legal questions about whether licensed practical nurses can be part of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).</p>
<p>Yale University <a href="https://theconversation.com/yale-grad-students-hunger-strike-cant-turn-the-tide-for-labor-77900">has recently come under criticism</a> for making a similar decision. Despite a February vote to unionize by graduate students in eight departments, Yale has so far <a href="http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2017/04/12/yale-refuses-negotiations-with-local-33/">resisted</a> calls to begin the bargaining process. Instead, it has appealed the decision to certify the election and is refusing to bargain until the appeal is decided.</p>
<p>Elderwood and Yale could hardly be more different. Yale is a world-class Ivy League bastion of higher education. Elderwood is a medium-sized elder care company that operates nursing home facilities in New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Yet both have made the strategic decision to not recognize the <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/labor-power-15530">right of their employees to unionize</a>. Why?</p>
<p>My research on the decline of the labor movement suggests a reason: Employers are counting on a changing of the guard at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173473/original/file-20170612-3809-nu7lex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173473/original/file-20170612-3809-nu7lex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173473/original/file-20170612-3809-nu7lex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173473/original/file-20170612-3809-nu7lex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173473/original/file-20170612-3809-nu7lex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173473/original/file-20170612-3809-nu7lex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173473/original/file-20170612-3809-nu7lex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The NLRB is about to go under new management.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Jon Elswick</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Republicans take control</h2>
<p>The NLRB is the administrative agency that is tasked with enforcing the <a href="https://www.nlrb.gov/resources/national-labor-relations-act">National Labor Relations Act</a>, the federal statute that gives employees the right to unionize and collectively bargain. The NLRB consists of five members who are appointed to five-year terms by the president upon the advice and consent of the Senate. </p>
<p>Right now, there are two vacancies on the board that President Donald Trump will fill. Once the Senate confirms President Trump’s nominees, Republicans will control the board for the first time since <a href="https://www.nlrb.gov/who-we-are/board/members-nlrb-1935">2007</a>. </p>
<p>The background of the three candidates <a href="https://www.bna.com/trump-nlrb-shortlist-n57982084216/">reportedly</a> under consideration suggests that the board will in fact be much friendlier to business interests under the Trump administration. One of the potential nominees, <a href="http://www.seatonlaw.com/attorneys/douglas-p-seaton/">Doug Seaton</a>, has made a career of being a “<a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/union-buster-president-trump-list-fill-spot-nlrb-article-1.3100158">union-buster</a>,” the term used to describe a consultant brought in by employers to beat a unionization campaign. Another, <a href="https://www.littler.com/people/william-j-emanuel">William Emanuel</a>, is a partner at Littler Mendelson, one of the largest and most successful anti-labor law firms in the country. Less is known about the third potential candidate, Marvin Kaplan, but his history as a Republican staffer <a href="https://qz.com/682125/the-alliance-between-us-businesses-and-the-republican-party-is-in-shambles/">suggests he may also</a> represent employers’ interests.</p>
<p>Many observers <a href="https://www.law360.com/articles/907451/7-obama-era-nlrb-rulings-trump-s-board-may-strike-down">assume</a> that this new board will overturn many Obama-era precedents that favored unions. These precedents include questions such as how to define bargaining units, at issue at both Yale and Elderwood. </p>
<p>But the new board could go even further and roll back pro-union decisions dating back decades. This could be devastating to already weakened unions. With <a href="https://www.bls.gov/webapps/legacy/cpslutab3.htm">private sector union membership</a> hovering at a dismal 6.4 percent – down from about 17 percent in 1983 – nothing short of the end of the labor movement could be at stake.</p>
<p></p><hr><p></p>
<p><iframe id="bTnVh" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/bTnVh/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p></p><hr><p></p>
<h2>How politics intruded on the NLRB</h2>
<p>The composition of the NLRB is important because most claims regarding the right to organize and collectively bargain are decided by the agency. </p>
<p>Unlike other employment statutes, such as <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/titlevii.cfm">Title VII</a> and the <a href="https://www.dol.gov/whd/flsa/">Fair Labor Standards Act</a>, individuals and unions cannot file claims in federal court and instead must participate in the administrative process set up by the National Labor Relations Act. While aggrieved parties can appeal board rulings to federal appeals courts, judges grant a high degree of deference to NLRB decisions. </p>
<p>In other words, three board members – a bare majority of the board – have an enormous ability to influence and shape American labor policy. </p>
<p>Given the amount of power these three individuals can wield, it is no wonder that the NLRB has become <a href="http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/faculty_scholarship/136/">highly politicized</a> in the decades since its creation in the 1930s. Ironically, the board was originally established as a way to try to insulate labor policy from political influences. </p>
<p>The drafters of the labor act <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/1341293.pdf?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">believed</a> that the federal courts were hostile to labor rights and would chip away at the protections in a way that would be bad for unions. Instead, the board has become a political battlefield for the two parties who hold very different views about labor policy. </p>
<p>This politicization came to a head during the Obama administration, when it became impossible to confirm anyone to serve on the NLRB. In response, Obama <a href="https://www.littler.com/es/president-bypasses-senate-make-recess-appointments-nlrb">appointed several members</a> using his recess appointment power, which allows the president to avoid Senate confirmation of nominees when Congress is in recess. </p>
<p>Employers challenged the move, and the Supreme Court eventually invalidated the recess appointments as executive overreach in <a href="http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/national-labor-relations-board-v-noel-canning/">NLRB v. Noel Canning</a>. After the decision, Obama and the Senate finally agreed on five members that were confirmed. This new board, with a Democratic majority, then decided many of the precedents that employers hope the new members will overturn.</p>
<h2>Flaws in the National Labor Relations Act</h2>
<p>So what will happen if Elderwood and Yale bet wrong and lose their appeals in front of the new Republican-controlled board?</p>
<p>In all likelihood, not much. The board process is long and cumbersome. It often takes years from the filing of a charge for failure to bargain to the board’s decision. In the meantime, employers hope that unions will have turnover in their membership, become disorganized and lose support.</p>
<p>Moreover, the penalties available under the National Labor Relations Act are <a href="https://www.acslaw.org/sites/default/files/Dannin_No_Rights_Without_Remedy_0.pdf">weak</a>. If an employer is found to have violated the act, the board can issue a “cease-and-desist” letter and require the employer to post a notice promising not to engage in further violations. These penalties hardly encourage employers to comply with their obligations, especially when they have so much to gain from obstructing attempts to unionize and collectively bargain. </p>
<p>If the labor movement is to survive, the National Labor Relations Act needs to be reformed to fix these problems. Instead, a few years of a Republican-controlled NLRB could be organized labor’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-americas-labor-unions-are-about-to-die-69575">death knell</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78167/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicole Hallett directs the Community Justice Clinic, which represents low-wage workers on employment matters, though not before the National Labor Relations Board.</span></em></p>Thwarted efforts to organize at Yale and a New York nursing home show how a changing of the guard at the National Labor Relations Board could potentially end the labor movement.Nicole Hallett, Assistant Clinical Professor of Law, University at BuffaloLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/589742016-06-01T01:00:33Z2016-06-01T01:00:33ZExplainer: how campus policies limit free speech<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/124674/original/image-20160531-2812-ye2osb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Why do campuses have "free speech zones"?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dcjohn/72584084/in/photolist-7q1HJ-4X9M2M-7D5JfA-HTGBB-9Uc9k-pGpXND-7V7cqt-9Uc9f-75sh3p-78gv5m-78cAQR-nsgQhu-LBZ8L-LBZcQ-7FpLkh-AUh7cY-az8W7f-dAmHum-nsxR52-LC8WD-nb4rSV-f7EzS-nsAtB5-aYLHjV-R9AT-6xe2Xo-nsxSt4-bpqjMG-pd6Wrs-F3arAS-bCkij4-7TgoJP-bCkiVD-dAmHpU-bCkeua-amMQpE-nb4BR5-nb4yXQ-dAgeAT-nb4wec-8xa8SD-dAmGXL-4af4My-bpqk5J-4jGQxN-2oyvb-PN5LS-9qP2QX-7w3pz3-5ggTE2">John</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Colleges and universities are supposed to be places where freedom of expression flourishes. Sadly, that is not the case. At a recent debate on the Yale University campus, 66 percent of the attendees supported a proposition that <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/the-glaring-evidence-that-free-speech-is-threatened-on-campus/471825/">“free speech <em>is</em> threatened.”</a></p>
<p>Places of higher learning seem more interested in “safe spaces” rather than in freedom of expression. <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/11/campus_protests_need_dialogue_not_safe_spaces_and_offense.html">Several incidents</a> across campuses illustrate this. Recently, at Emory, students complained after they found <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/02/us/pro-trump-chalk-messages-cause-conflicts-on-college-campuses.html">chalk messages scrawled</a> around campus voicing support for Donald J. Trump. </p>
<p>Last year at the University of Ottawa, a yoga class designed for handicapped people was suspended because the student federation thought it was a form of “cultural appropriation.” And at Smith College a student sit-in blocked media from entering unless reporters agreed to explicitly state support for the movement in their coverage. </p>
<p>Illustrating how contentious the debates have become, two of the most respected American comedians, Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld, said that colleges are eager “<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/thats-not-funny/399335/">not to offend anybody.” </a> Some students at a private Ivy League school even signed a petition to <a href="http://reason.com/blog/2015/12/17/yale-students-eagerly-sign-petition-to-r">repeal the First Amendment.</a> </p>
<p>Ideally, colleges and universities would foster an exchange of competing and controversial ideas. The reality is much different. Some colleges and universities limit discourse by silencing speech that might offend others through so-called speech codes and free speech zones.</p>
<p>In studying free expression issues for more than 20 years, I strongly believe such polices have led to a <a href="https://www.thefire.org/the-chilling-effect-in-action-campus-speech-codes-and-political-disengagement/">chilling effect</a> on speech. They also have led to a mentality where students do not wish or want to face an opposing viewpoint. </p>
<p>So, what are these policies?</p>
<h2>Combating hateful speech</h2>
<p>First, let’s look at speech codes on campuses. A speech code refers to a <a href="http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/hate-speech-campus-speech-codes">set of provisions or regulations</a> that limit certain types of offensive or harassing speech. </p>
<p>Colleges and universities usually don’t call their regulations speech codes. Instead, they refer to them as <a href="http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/hate-speech-campus-speech-codes">anti-harassment policies</a>.</p>
<p>It was in the 1980s and 1990s that more than 300 colleges passed these policies to combat hateful speech. <a href="http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/free-speech-on-public-college-campuses">Schools tried to address</a> harassment of gays and lesbians, women and members of other ethnic groups. The policies were further enforced when white students wore blackface for sorority and fraternity parties. Many schools were trying to <a href="http://www.popecenter.org/commentaries/article.html?id=1774%E2%80%8B">achieve more diversity</a> in their student bodies.</p>
<p>The intent was good. Many of these policies sought to <a href="http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1046&context=journalismdiss">prohibit speech or conduct</a> that created an intimidating or harassing environment on the basis of race, sex, religion, or other criteria.</p>
<p>However, the <a href="http://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1916&context=law_lawreview">results were not good</a> for the First Amendment and freedom of speech.
Policies at the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin were invalidated on First Amendment free speech grounds.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/124679/original/image-20160531-1955-1d8aryi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/124679/original/image-20160531-1955-1d8aryi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/124679/original/image-20160531-1955-1d8aryi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/124679/original/image-20160531-1955-1d8aryi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/124679/original/image-20160531-1955-1d8aryi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/124679/original/image-20160531-1955-1d8aryi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/124679/original/image-20160531-1955-1d8aryi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">At the University of Wisconsin, speech codes were adopted following racial incidents.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dharma_for_one/3662595252/in/photolist-6zDKY1-6zzEnV-6zzEAz-6zDLNG-6zzDNV-fCEtm9-nrko9M-dryJ3u-fFaJkV-oRuADe-4JaWZo-6zDLCb-6zzEjX-4JaX5E-6zzBYx-6zzDye-7CUsff-osbc6y-8GUYJ5-7QVJmz-eNfMky-7QZ4J1-eXo4kU-eWhwNN-c3cA6d-7PUUvT-fL6Wwa-oQka9f-dybmjC-4JaY2f-iawq9K-6zDH3A-7PuHr9-7YLrLy-fQE89b-aFdRmp-ehUn7M-6zDKxu-ehUoS8-c3cyr7-7YLoyG-4J6H3t-c4xWQU-4J6GVX-6zDCRN-ge7o9J-7QVGpZ-7PYqbQ-fM8NEE-6zDHnd">JanetandPhil</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the University of Wisconsin, for example, university officials adopted the speech code after several racially insensitive displays at fraternities. For example, one fraternity held a “slave auction.” A student newspaper and several others <a href="http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/hate-speech-campus-speech-codes">challenged the policy</a> on the ground that the policies infringed on academic freedom and stifled some legitimate speech. In UWM Post v. Board of Regents of University of Wisconsin (1991), a federal district court struck down the policy, writing:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The suppression of speech, even where the speech’s content appears to have little value and great costs, amounts to governmental thought control.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Similar problems occurred at Michigan, which had its share of disturbing racially charged incidents. At Michigan, a student disc jockey allowed racist jokes to be aired. University officials reacted with a speech code. The problem was that officials applied the policy to chill the speech of students engaged in classroom discussion or academic research. </p>
<p>A federal district court judge <a href="http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/hate-speech-campus-speech-codes">invalidated</a> the policy in Doe v. University of Michigan (1989), writing:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>While the Court is sympathetic to the University’s obligation to ensure equal educational opportunities for all of its students, such efforts must not be at the expense of free speech. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The problem was that these codes were not drafted with sufficient precision. Courts ruled that these polices were <a href="http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/hate-speech-campus-speech-codes">either too broad or too vague</a>. </p>
<h2>Overbreadth and vagueness problems</h2>
<p>A policy is too broad if it prohibits speech that ought to be protected in addition to speech that can be prohibited. In legal terms, <a href="http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/glossary">this is called “overbreadth”</a>. For example, a policy that prohibits “offensive and annoying” speech sweeps too broadly and prohibits lawful expression. </p>
<p>A policy is <a href="http://www.campusspeech.org/page/cfs/speech-codes#vague">too vague</a> if a person has to guess at its meaning. Vagueness is rooted in the notion that it is fundamentally unfair to punish someone when they did not know that their speech violated the policy. </p>
<p>For example, the University of Michigan had a policy that prohibited “stigmatizing or victimizing” individuals or groups on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, creed, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, handicap or Vietnam-era veteran status.</p>
<p>In Doe v. University of Michigan, a <a href="http://cdn.publicinterestnetwork.org/assets/_CBLOGgQUrqYOGQU2RFpxg/SPEECH-CODES-DOE-V.-U-MICHIGAN.pdf">federal district court judge ruled</a> the policy too vague, writing:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Students of common understanding were necessarily forced to guess at whether a comment about a controversial issue would later be found to be sanctionable under the Policy.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Controversies <a href="http://www.uvm.edu/%7Evtconn/?Page=v20/garrett.html">still abound</a> over speech codes at colleges and universities. The <a href="https://www.thefire.org/">Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE)</a> regularly challenges policies that it believes run afoul of the First Amendment. </p>
<p>In its annual report, <a href="https://www.thefire.org/spotlight/reports/">the group contends</a> that nearly half of the speech codes at 440 colleges infringe on First Amendment free speech rights. FIRE contends in its report that “any speech code in force at a public university is extremely vulnerable to a constitutional challenge.” </p>
<h2>Restricting where students can have free speech</h2>
<p>In addition, many colleges and universities have free speech zones. Under these policies, people can speak at places of higher learning in only certain, specific locations or zones. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/124676/original/image-20160531-1925-8c05p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/124676/original/image-20160531-1925-8c05p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/124676/original/image-20160531-1925-8c05p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/124676/original/image-20160531-1925-8c05p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/124676/original/image-20160531-1925-8c05p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/124676/original/image-20160531-1925-8c05p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/124676/original/image-20160531-1925-8c05p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Free speech zones limit expression to a few places on campus.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/pennstatelive/4947091245/in/photolist-8xa8SD-dAmGXL-7AveRD-8xa8Ya-9biaMe-4af4My-bpqk5J-aD3pQM-4jGQxN-8xda7u-3SirtV-2oyvb-6SHjKF-9hv2K4-9wCcPE-72tP85-7YiKLg-7DQVuv-9qP2QX-aD7cCG-7byzGU-aD3oF2-9wzfw4-7VFNmU-8xda4q-aD3nhe-aD78kU-aD7eP7-aD7dgs-aD7hFW-aD3qbx-aD7g8Q-7ZGe7B-aD3s88-aD3rD8-aD7bRf-aD78Zm-aD7bmo-3WHWP-6qCngA-aD3iQe-3WHL9-7VGVY7-wmJrgm-nb4UdF-nb4BPQ-nb4Bob-nqvsXy-yj5kJr-yiXxhm">Penn State</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While there are remnants of these policies from the 1960s, <a href="http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/free-speech-zones">they grew in number</a> in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a way for administrators to deal with controversial expression. </p>
<p>These policies may have a seductive appeal for administrators, as they claim to advance the cause of free speech. But, free speech zones often limit speech by relegating expression to just a few locations. For example, some colleges began by having only <a href="http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/free-speech-zones">two or three free speech zones </a>on campus.</p>
<p>The idea of <a href="http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/blog-moot-court-topic-the-zoning-of-speech">zoning speech</a> is not unique to colleges and universities. Government officials have sought to diminish the impact of different types of expression by zoning adult-oriented expression, antiabortion protestors and political demonstrators outside political conventions. </p>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/on-college-campuses-zoning-out-free-speech">particularly egregious example</a>, a student at Modesto Junior College in California named Robert Van Tuinen was prohibited from handing out copies of the United States Constitution on September 17, 2013 – the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. </p>
<p>Van Tuinen was informed that he could get permission to distribute the Constitution if he preregistered for time in the “free speech zone.” But later,
Van Tuinen was told by an administrator that he would have to wait, possibly until the next month.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/author/charleshaynes">In the words of</a> First Amendment expert Charles Haynes, “the entire campus should be a free speech zone.” In other words, the default position of school administrators should be to allow speech, not limit it.</p>
<p>Zoning speech is troubling, particularly when it reduces the overall amount of speech on campus. And many free speech experts view the idea of a free speech zone as <a href="http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/free-speech-zones">“moronic and oxymoronic.”</a></p>
<p>College or university campuses should be a place where free speech not only survives but thrives.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58974/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Hudson is affiliated with the Newseum Insitute. He is the Ombudsman for the Newseum Institute's First Amendment Center. </span></em></p>Are speech codes and free-speech zones silencing speech on college and university campuses?David Hudson, Adjunct Professor of Law, Vanderbilt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/406812015-06-05T08:07:32Z2015-06-05T08:07:32ZIs today’s university the new multinational corporation?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83832/original/image-20150603-2956-3ztt8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The new global university: is this a gamble?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&autocomplete_id=143334344862210770000&searchterm=global%20university&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=278101544">Globe image via www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A growing number of colleges and universities are emerging as multinational organizations – creating start-up versions of themselves in foreign countries.</p>
<p>Those vacationing in western France may drive past a <a href="http://lorraine.gatech.edu/">campus</a> of Georgia Institute of Technology. Similarly, those visiting Italy may come across a Johns Hopkins nestled in Bologna; or if you are a visitor to Rwanda, you may come across a Carnegie Mellon University <a href="http://www.cmu.edu/rwanda/">campus</a>.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="http://www.globalhighered.org/">Cross-Border Education Research Team (C-BERT)</a> at SUNY-Albany, 51 US universities now operate 83 branch campuses outside of the United States. Arkansas State has recently <a href="http://www.astate.edu/a/asunews/featured/queretaro-campus.dot">announced</a> it will build a campus in Mexico. Qatar is already home to <a href="http://www.qf.org.qa/enroll">campuses</a> from six American universities. </p>
<p>Students can now earn degrees from <a href="http://www.nyu.edu/global.html">New York University</a> in New York City, Abu Dhabi or Shanghai.</p>
<p>This sort of activity is being duplicated by <a href="http://www.globalhighered.org/branchcampuses.php">institutions</a> from Australia, the United Kingdom, India and more than two dozen other countries. Globally, universities in 32 countries export 235 branch campuses across 73 nations.</p>
<p>How are we to understand these developments? Do they bring advantages for students, academia as well as nations? Have higher education institutions become tools of public diplomacy? Or, are such institutions evolving into multiple national corporations with limited affinity with their home nation?</p>
<p>For the past five years, as co-directors of <a href="http://www.globalhighered.org/">C-BERT</a>, we have been tracking the development of this phenomenon, research that has included visits to some 50 of these institutions in 15 countries.</p>
<h2>Universities go global</h2>
<p>The fact is that no longer are global activities limited to the for-profit educational conglomerates such as the Apollo Group <a href="http://www.phoenix.edu/colleges_divisions/global.html">University of Phoenix</a> and <a href="http://www.laureate.net/">Laureate</a> that have developed an international footprint through investment in online education and the purchase of colleges in multiple countries. </p>
<p>Rather, a growing number of public and private nonprofit universities have entered this space, creating, for example, branch campuses where a student in a local country can attend classes, join student organizations, engage in research projects and earn a degree awarded in the name of the home campus. </p>
<p>The earliest branch campus we’ve identified opened in the 1920s, when <a href="http://www.newschool.edu/parsons/fashion-school/">Parsons Fashion School in New York</a> opened a location in Paris, so they could be in the fashion capital of the world, even though much of the growth in this sector started only in the 2000s. </p>
<p>Today, this effort is not limited to a handful of elite four-year institutions; it includes schools ranging from community colleges to boutique graduate schools, offering associates’ degrees to doctorates.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/10/education/10global.html?_r=1&">Proponents argue</a> that branch campuses provide needed educational capacity in underserved areas, while allowing the home institution to diversify its revenue and enhance its reputation. <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/10/12/singapore">Critics claim</a> that operating under authoritarian governments hampers the academic freedom of faculty and students. </p>
<h2>Push and pull factors</h2>
<p>Most branch campuses seem to fall somewhere in between the glorious and the atrocious. But, first, let us look at some of the factors leading to the setting up of these branch campuses. </p>
<p>In our view, there are a number of internal factors <em>pushing</em> institutions to open branches - mainly, resources, regulations and reputation.</p>
<p>With declining government subsidies at home, concerns about rising tuition rates and heightened competition for students, some colleges and universities are looking for new ways to expand their economic base, through the delivery of courses overseas, foreign research monies and relationships with donors in other countries. </p>
<p>Having a physical presence is helpful, and at times necessary. </p>
<p>Also, it is sometimes easier to expand and be innovative in a different country, where the rules and regulations of the home and host nations (or states) do not constrain their efforts as much. In the US, we have <a href="https://www.academia.edu/2147225/Regulating_Cross-Border_Higher_Education_A_Case_Study_of_the_United_States">found</a> that while accreditation standards apply to international activities, many state regulations do not extend beyond their borders. </p>
<p>In addition, places like the <a href="http://www.diacedu.ae/">Dubai International Academic City</a> and <a href="http://www.iskandarinvestment.com/master-planned-development-projects/educity/">EduCity</a> in Malaysia are considered “free trade” zones designed to provide such regulatory relief from both the importing and exporting nations. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83835/original/image-20150603-2951-42i7cw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83835/original/image-20150603-2951-42i7cw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83835/original/image-20150603-2951-42i7cw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83835/original/image-20150603-2951-42i7cw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83835/original/image-20150603-2951-42i7cw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83835/original/image-20150603-2951-42i7cw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83835/original/image-20150603-2951-42i7cw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">In going global, higher education is changing rapidly.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/13905987989/in/photolist-nbPPKB-4pDCib-6qcEmX-HFqCr-jT3JRm-8xKPAS-r8yVa7-exovuF-qwgkhV-e9TGv8-rrqi2R-roPMnP-HLQyZ-9wVVTD-qb8W5k-qaVF17-65qYhF-5JjbsH-nReWwz-5uCdpg-reqJJi-8y17Mt-rzxcri-ribZTH-rxmnwC-bu6u7Q-9JMewz-fkvHcD-9pJwXx-8HUqMw-6ehPB9-qmNwZa-8JN4Vu-aY5PRc-eZWxgi-2x4kWQ-syiS41-b6MCQF-47Qm7t-6DhuiP-84j4Hb-6dKQ6-rU65ET-pYNBPD-6icJvA-sQUNXZ-8fe6gg-qingpf-bWRwk5-bWRwbd">Kevin Dooley</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Global engagement also seems to be increasingly tied to an institution’s and nation’s reputation. For example, global university rankings such as those by <a href="http://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/rankings">US News and World Report</a> and <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2014-15/world-ranking">Times Higher Education</a> factor in the international engagement of institutions.</p>
<p>This is not all. Higher education institutions have become tools of public diplomacy. Some exporting governments see International Branch Campuses (IBCs) as a means to strengthen their alliances with the importing nations.</p>
<p>There are also a number of factors <em>pulling</em> institutions to set up overseas.</p>
<p>Foreign universities have demonstrated interest in locating branches near rapidly expanding academic markets and being part of the emergence of Asia as a power player in the higher education landscape. It is no accident that most of the IBCs built in the past decade are located around the Indian Ocean and Pacific Rim.</p>
<p>Indeed, <a href="http://chronicle.com/blogs/worldwise/economic-competitiveness-internationalization-and-branch-campuses/29120">some countries</a> have developed strategies and enacted policies to encourage international branch campus development through an “<a href="http://jsi.sagepub.com/content/15/3/221.abstract">education hub</a>.” Hubs usually indicate a country’s intention to <a href="https://www.academia.edu/1820761/Deciphering_Educational_Hubs_Strategies_Rhetoric_and_Reality">promote</a> itself as a regional or international destination for students.</p>
<p>Places like Abu Dhabi (UAE) and <a href="http://www.qf.org.qa/">Qatar</a> have provided financial and regulatory incentives to attract prestigious IBCs. But destinations such as Dubai, that do not offer any subsidy, are popular locations as well; in fact, IBCs are charged high rents to operate in places such as <a href="http://www.diacedu.ae/">Dubai International Academic City</a> (though they can receive exemption from many local regulations). </p>
<p>Some importing nations seek to raise their own international reputation by aligning themselves with well-respected institutions such as <a href="https://dku.edu.cn/">Duke</a>, <a href="http://www.yale-nus.edu.sg/">Yale</a> and <a href="http://www.qatar.tamu.edu/">Texas A&M University</a>. </p>
<h2>Why some fail</h2>
<p>However, at times the reasons for expansion <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2011/10/20/new_caution_for_us_universities_overseas/">do not align with reality</a>, as the recent retreats of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/education/01campus.html?_r=0">George Mason</a>, <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128342097">Michigan State</a> and the <a href="http://laverne.edu/news/2004/09/press-archive-245/">University of La Verne</a> illustrate. </p>
<p>These campuses, like the 26 others that C-BERT data <a href="http://www.globalhighered.org/branchcampuses.php">report</a>, closed because they either encountered unexpected market and cultural conditions or lacked sufficient support from the home campus. </p>
<p>Unrealistic projections of revenue and enrollment, regulatory conflicts, and incompatible partnerships are the <a href="http://chronicle.com/blogs/worldwise/another-one-bites-the-dust/28769">hallmarks</a> of a bungled branch. </p>
<p>Creating an IBC is akin to creating a “start-up” in a foreign nation – with a different set of laws, cultural expectations and educational infrastructure. Abu Dhabi is very different from New York City. And it isn’t China either. </p>
<p>The established infrastructure of a campus in one country is repurposed in another country with the intention of educating students, fostering local research and innovation, and, through spillover, improving the overall quality of the domestic education sector.</p>
<p>As pioneers in an educational experiment, faculty and staff may be called on to help with a variety of tasks including budget planning, recruiting students, course scheduling, website design, furniture construction, staffing residence halls and even fixing computers.</p>
<h2>Changing loyalties</h2>
<p>It is clear that colleges and universities are emerging as important international actors, offering benefits to the institution as well as the importing and exporting nations. </p>
<p>What is not clear is how these arrangements will affect the relationship between a nation and its higher education sector. </p>
<p>Historically, colleges and universities have been viewed as anchor institutions that are tightly linked to their local communities and often are significant engines of economic development. </p>
<p>But we are now seeing campuses move locations in their effort to find “best deals” in terms of more regulator flexibility or government subsidies. The University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-12/chicago-s-booth-to-move-mba-program-to-hong-kong-detention-site.html">announced</a> in 2013 that it would leave Singapore and set up shop in Hong Kong. </p>
<p>Similarly, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, has <a href="http://www.unlvrebelyell.com/2013/01/28/unlv-to-split-with-singapore-education-partner/">indicated</a> that it will leave Singapore this year. It is now looking for another Asian base. </p>
<p>Do these trends suggest that US universities will close their home campus if they get a better deal elsewhere? Likely not. Much of the cachet of the branch campus comes from being associated with a home country like the United States, for example.</p>
<p>But both institutions and nations need to realize that these endeavors can be big gambles, and not everyone has a winning hand.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/40681/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Lane is a member of the Board of Managers of SUNY Korea, a branch campus of the State University of New York located in Incheon, Korea. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin Kinser does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Universities across 32 countries are operating 235 global branch campuses across 73 nations. What does this trend mean? What changes is it bringing?Jason E. Lane, Associate Professor of Education Policy & Co-Director of the Cross-Border Education Research Team, University at Albany, State University of New YorkKevin Kinser, Associate Professor of Education, University at Albany, State University of New YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/84642012-07-29T20:42:51Z2012-07-29T20:42:51ZUniversity or business? Yale’s Singapore partnership violates human rights<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/13501/original/h9y338fv-1343345933.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=13%2C12%2C1010%2C708&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Universities such as Yale need to respect the human rights of their staff and students.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flickr/Snap Man</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Yale university’s <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iiOSrn0_lQXhngGIxxbxrBUV5TYQ?docId=CNG.7072b80644f5991191d1f62bb3d4b560.c1">decision</a> to set up a liberal arts college at the National University of Singapore (NUS) while accepting Singapore’s restrictions on students’ rights to free speech and freedom of association is outrageous. </p>
<p>Human rights organisations are rightly concerned. One group said in a <a href="http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/07/19/singapore-yale-curtail-rights-new-campus">statement</a> that Yale is “betraying the spirit of the university as a centre of open debate and protest by giving away the rights of its students at its new Singapore campus.” </p>
<p>The partnership is another reminder that universities are now primarily profit-run, often multi-national businesses that will fully exploit the opportunities offered by globalisation with less thought for the needs of their students.</p>
<p>And it may not only be students whose rights are curtailed – imagine being a teaching academic whose lectures could be deemed unacceptable, or even illegal, at any time. </p>
<p>In this venture, Yale may well be violating international human rights conventions. The university needs to stop and look at the risks involved in such a partnership, as well as the message it sends to students, academics and society at large.</p>
<h2>A university’s code</h2>
<p>Most commentators would agree that the role and contributions of a university relate to breakthrough innovations and creative impulses, nurtured on a balanced diet of existing knowledge and unfettered explorations. A university venture accepting restrictions in speech and association fundamentally contradicts this aim. And in the context of creating a liberal arts college, it is nothing short of ludicrous: Liberal? Arts? Hello! </p>
<p>But if universities are going to act primarily as businesses they still need to consider their obligations. The <a href="http://www1.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/c3dedb0049c51e71886d99da80c2ddf3/UNGPsandIFC-SF-DRAFT.pdf?MOD=AJPERES">UN’s Guiding Principles (GPs) on Business and Human Rights</a> sets out the business risks of human rights violations.</p>
<p>The GPs refer to internationally recognised human rights, such as those expressed in the <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/Compilation1.1en.pdf">International Bill of Human Rights</a> and the <a href="http://www.ilo.org/declaration/lang--en/index.htm">International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work</a>. </p>
<h2>Business and human rights</h2>
<p>But despite these GPs, business (and indeed many governments) are lagging behind on human rights. Current and past business activity has resulted in many human rights abuses with damaging effects on the environment and the well-being of individuals and communities. You only have to think of high-profile cases involving <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster">Union Carbide</a> or <a href="http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/court-of-appeal-upholds-million-dollar-payout-to-james-hardie-asbestos-victim/story-fn7x8me2-1226228731644">James Hardie</a> to be reminded of this.</p>
<p>Just because a business goes overseas, for example, does not mean it should not act according to the GPs. In fact, they were designed in the first place to deal with the governance challenges caused by globalisation. The GPs state that governments have a duty to protect the human rights of their state’s citizens; that business has a responsibility to respect human rights in conducting their business activities; and that both states and business must put in place appropriate and effective mechanisms to remedy human rights abuses within their territories and jurisdictions.</p>
<h2>Rights and responsibilities</h2>
<p>With an unimpressive human rights scorecard, Singapore has long been in the sights of human rights organisations, such as <a href="http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/singapore">Amnesty International</a>. Despite public condemnation, states of course enjoy their own sovereignty so Singapore pretty much does as it pleases. </p>
<p>However, the GPs “apply to all states” which are required to “take appropriate steps to investigate, punish and redress business-related human rights abuses when they occur”. </p>
<p>In the case of the Yale-NUS partnership, the government’s restrictions amount to human rights abuse. And for Yale too (the business in this case) the international GPs are clear: they should avoid “causing or contributing to adverse human rights impacts” and seek “to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts that are directly linked to their operations, products or services by their business relationships”. </p>
<p>According to these parameters, Yale is not properly discharging their responsibility to respect human rights. Clear and simple.</p>
<h2>Legal consequences</h2>
<p>The GPs provide examples of existing “remedies” including legislative and non-legislative mechanisms to achieve this requirement. The United States-based 1789 “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_Tort_Statute">Alien Torts Statute</a>” (ATS), has long been used extra-territorially to claim redress for the human rights violations of both US and non-US citizens. </p>
<p>According to the GPs and former applications of the ATS, Yale University could find itself in US courts for undertaking a collaboration with human rights restrictions.</p>
<p>If universities are going to do business, they’d better do it right. Media reports on the Yale-NUS partnership suggest that this collaboration was undertaken with full awareness of the issues for their students and staff. </p>
<p>In the process of normal business, due diligence should be conducted to identify and assess key business risks. But in this instance the legal risks and human rights risks have been totally ignored. This could be a costly mistake for Yale-NUS, both for their dollar bottom line and for their reputation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/8464/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rosaria Burchielli is affiliated with Australian Corporate Accountability Now.</span></em></p>Yale university’s decision to set up a liberal arts college at the National University of Singapore (NUS) while accepting Singapore’s restrictions on students’ rights to free speech and freedom of association…Rosaria Burchielli, Senior Lecturer in Business Ethics, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.