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WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

A University 'Bias Response Team' Goes to Court

WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

The Wall Street Journal

Society & Culture, News

4.22.8K Ratings

🗓️ 13 June 2023

⏱️ 24 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Fourth Circuit upholds Virginia Tech's official Bias Intervention and Response Team, which encourages anonymous reports from students. But is the dissent by Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III a signal flare for the Supreme Court? Plus, the CPI report shows 4% inflation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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visit buysidesummersweeps.com.

0:18.0

From the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal, this is The Tomic Watch.

0:23.9

A Federal Appeals Court upholds a bias response team on a public college campus.

0:30.0

As the latest inflation figures come in at 4% year over year.

0:34.7

Welcome, I'm Kyle Peterson with The Wall Street Journal.

0:37.9

We are joined today by my colleagues, columnist Kim Strassel,

0:42.2

and editorial board member, Maneu Kueh Barua.

0:46.3

These sorts of bias response policies have been proliferating on the college campuses,

0:51.4

but the one we're going to discuss today is from Virginia Tech.

0:55.8

It is officially called the bias intervention and response team or the BERT.

1:01.1

And students there are encouraged to report ill-considered opinions or crass jokes that they hear

1:07.5

on campus. The bias response team can investigate.

1:11.6

And even if it decides that the student speech was covered by the First Amendment,

1:16.8

it can invite the student and the complainer to a voluntary conversation at the Dean's office.

1:23.5

A group called Speech for Soon Over This.

1:26.1

And Kim remarkably, this has now been upheld at the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals

1:31.2

in a two to one ruling.

1:32.5

Yeah, I find this absolutely stunning.

...

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