More and more, students are chafing at the campus “tolerance” culture.

The Columbia Spectator took a look at “Political Correctness” that masks speech censorship in a series of articles:

Respectful rhetoric by David Salazar
Incorrectly politically correct by Ben Rashkovich
Unnecessarily controversial by Esfandyar Batmanghelidj
A pervasive force by Bobtom Flynn

Finally, Alessandra Plosador, Columbia College sophomore majoring in computer science, offers some very insightful views in “An attitude problem”:

In the public sphere, especially where the right wing is concerned, to be called “politically correct” is an accusation. It implies a kind of paranoia and over-sensitivity to language that stifles the freedom and elegance of expression.But on our diverse and liberal breeding ground of a campus, the term is used differently.

“You can’t say that,” I often hear in hushed, disapproving tones. “It isn’t PC.” And so flyers get taken down. Essays are reworded. Discussions proceed haltingly. Columbia students, saturated by discourse on identity, learn to choose their words carefully lest their peers treat them to a (patronizing) crash course on what is and isn’t acceptable.

The intentions behind political correctness, however, are noble. In the name of open-mindedness, compassion, and sensitivity, we aim to avoid offending, excluding, or marginalizing against groups of our peers on campus. Above all, we do this through a reformulation of the way we use language. The base assumption here is that the way we speak or write reflects our societal and institutional attitudes. Therefore, by correcting how we use language, we can realize a more open and tolerant society.

But training ourselves to speak in ways that are politically correct does not necessarily correspond with the actual development of a tolerant perspective. That is the fundamental problem with political correctness. The arguments that revolve around free speech, censorship, and the right to offend miss the point. The real issue that most compromises the benign intentions of political correctness is the fact that, by merely addressing language, its effect is superficial.

…I don’t undervalue at all the role the faction of students that acts as the guard of political correctness plays in mediating the discourse surrounding delicate issues on campus. Frequently, it has been my own experience that a classmate or peer who took the time to reasonably object to an inconsiderate comment helped me better understand a perspective or even discover one of which I wasn’t aware at all. However, there are modifications that must be made in terms of the tone and spirit of corrections. It’s been said before that students have to stop attacking each other for blameless ignorance of the very subjective realm of identity politics.