Opinion
Disparaging peek at frightful clauses
Looking for a print version?
Simply use your browser’s ‘Print’ command and a printer-friendly document will be generated automatically.
Also by Cynthia Martens:
- Readership dropping for newspapers (October 31, 2005)
- French protests not entirely rational (April 7, 2006)
- Dynamics change for college dating (November 14, 2005)
- Language always amusing (April 14, 2006)
- Religion interferes with FDA ruling (November 21, 2005)
Sharing tools:
E-mail this article:
“This class sucks,” your friend says. And nothing happens.
Relish your right as a student to say whatever you please about the university, its courses or its professors, because when you enter the working world, you keep your trap shut.
Non-disparagement clauses are increasingly common in companies and state something to the effect of:
“You may not, either during your employment with the firm or thereafter, make or encourage others to make any statement or release any information that is intended to, or reasonably could be foreseen to, embarrass or criticize the firm or its employees, directors or shareholders as a group.”
Carin Clauss, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin, noted that while non-disparagement clauses certainly suppress speech, they are common, and “if you’re talking about a private company, [employers] can do whatever they want.”
“Non-disparagement is pretty new. It’s kind of an overreaction to sexual and racial harassment claims,” she said.
It’s the ten-year anniversary of a non-disparagement clause battle at the UW, when students fought proposed endorsement contracts with competing shoe companies. Reebok scored the contract, but the rather embarrassing non-disparagement clause was deleted thanks only to student activism.
The San Francisco Chronicle once published a piece about newspapers that forced laid-off reporters to sign non-disparagement clauses. Reporters who had spent their entire careers ferreting out information for the public lost their own free speech with their jobs.
Non-disparagement clauses are still underutilized. If restaurants had them, waiters and waitresses would never diss the food or wine. In shops, sales clerks would refrain from negative judgments about the quality or attractiveness of merchandise.
Last year in Nashville, Tenn., a case erupted as one employee of Prime Hospitality accused another of calling her a derogatory name. The plaintiff “brought this action to recover damages resulting from an insulting remark allegedly made by an executive of her former employer in violation of a prior settlement agreement that contained a non-disparagement provision.” Whoah.
In Louthian vs. Louthian, a non-disparagement clause entered a child-custody battle. While detailed information on the case wasn’t available, it’s safe to say ex-spouses have a lot to say about each other. Seems like a perfect fit for non-disparagement.
Maybe students could sign non-disparagement clauses when relationships turned serious. If relationships didn’t work out, students could always reference their non-disparagement agreements to avoid petty gossip. “Sorry, we signed an N.D.” Trash talking would be limited to random, one-time hookups and failed, first dates.
It’s easy to see where non-disparagement clauses would help companies. At the company holiday party, someone has too much eggnog, and suddenly the complaints are flowing with the alcohol. With a non-disparagement clause, that guy would be out the door before his hangover set in.
What if getting a degree at UW required that students sign non-disparagement clauses as freshmen? Maybe ten years ago students were wrong. Maybe non-disparagement clauses are okay. Maybe the UW should make signing one as a freshman a condition for a diploma.
After signing non-disparagement clauses, students could only write positive TA or professor evaluations. After all, in this best of all possible universities, school spirit should extend to evaluations.
If we made only positive remarks about the UW, its reputation would soar, enrollment would go up, and we’d attract better faculty. Sales of red and white hoodies would boom and give the university more money. Would this help lower tuition?
Don’t worry, non-disparagement wouldn’t keep us from shouting obscenities at the opposing teams on football Saturdays; we just couldn’t badmouth the UW. But maybe sections O and P would have to chill out.
Cynthia Martens (cmartens@badgerherald.com) is a junior majoring in Italian and European Studies.
10 Comments | Leave a comment
Leave a comment
Herald Blogs
The Beat Goes On
Brother Ali makes an ‘Exclusive’ stop
Muckrakers
Report: Barrett to make decision by the end of the week
Extra Points
Top Classified Ads (view all)
HOUSES FOR Fall 2010. All houses are on W Dayton or N Bassett. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 bedrooms. All have parking. madisoncampusrentals.com
521 W Dayton 4BR/2BA. Marble showers, dishwasher, completely updated! madisoncampusrentals.com
1, 2, or 3 bedroom apartment available for spring 2010. meltzer@wisc.edu if you are interested!
I worked at a hotel in Rochester, MN ten years ago. There, I was subjected to all kinds of ugly anti-Jewish harrassment from co-workers and higher-ups, not to mention a few hotel guests at the encouragement of my co-workers. I gave them a little non-disparagement agreement of my own: I would leave my job at the hotel with a nice out-of-court settlement or my lawyer would shake 'em down in front of a judge and force them to cough up a fortune in damages. The hotel opted for the former.
Nice to know that bad things still also happen to bad people.
jews are annoying
"jews are annoying"
Yeah and so are right-wing extremists asshole like you, not to mention the oh-so-tolerant Madison liberal assholes who claim they are not anti-Jewish.
So who do you like then, just Jewish people?
Wow - that was an incredible leap in attribution. What about it screamed any particular political ideology to you?
"So who do you like then, just Jewish people?"
No, I like all kinds of people. But if all non-Jews were like you, then I would definitely only like Jewish people.
"So who do you like then, just Jewish people?"
I like people who are truly tolerant, not hypocrites who only claim to be tolerant and then contradict themselves completely. What's up the bums of people here in Madison? I thought this was supposed to be a liberal city. Now I see that there are some unspoken exceptions. Needless to say, I'm totally disappointed. I came to school here because I heard it's a place where minorities can feel comfortable and not have to worry about being victims of hate crimes. But no, it appears to be open season on Jews. And Jews are getting it from the radical left AND the radical right! Maybe there's still time for me to transfer somewhere else next Fall.
Bye bye!
Wow.. Being Tolerant is the new cool hipster thing huh? Why don't you just relax and stop trying to be some pseduo-intellectual.. if you'd use your knowledge, you'd realize that humans are pattern recognition machines.. you see a white guy, you categorize him in white guy category, you see a professor looking type guy.. you categorize them there.. instead of somehow trying to rewire how we think, use your time to make some invention that gives poor people in Africa good clean drinking water.. Then we would see you as an annoying wannabe preaching tolerance..
P.S. Make sure to patent that invention and reap the benefits cause money can be used to buy a time machine to go to back or forward in time to your own personal utopia.
All you Jew haters out there, feel free to meet me in the parking lot behind Bascom Hall at 9 a.m. tomorrow. I'll kick all your asses without even breaking a sweat.