ETHNIC SLURS OR FREE SPEECH - POLITICS OF REPRESENTATION IN A STUDENTNEWSPAPER

This article analyzes the conflict between free speech and equality in higher education at public universities. Borrowing from the anthropol ogy of representation and critical legal theory, it explores the socia l consequences of racial slurs in the student press. Confronted by Sup reme Court decisions against speech codes, how can a campus promote re spect and discourage stigmatizing practices? This case study suggests that what cannot presently be accomplished through the courts may be a chieved by community action and peer pressure.