Gregory Szorc's blog

What is a Right?

"I have rights." You undoubtedly hear offended individuals screaming this all the time. In the general population, people are misinformed about what a right is. In its most basic sense, a right is something to which you have been entitled. For more information, see WikiPedia:Rights.

We generally have a very liberal view about what rights we have. For example, there is no such thing as the right to not be offended. However, this fake right will be cited by many who have their beliefs challenged by another.

At Case, the Housing, Residence Life, and Greek Life listing of rights suffers the same fate. If you look at the current Handbook for Undergraduate Students, you will find on pg 99 of the printed version or pg 107 of the pdf an enumeration of rights. The last right listed is not a right at all. It reads:

To expect that these rights will be respected by all community members

This is not a right, this is an expectation. You don't need a right to other rights. By default, a right is granted to you. Another of their listed rights is

To expect that the personal belongings of others will be respected

Again, this is an expectation. One already has the right to hold private property. There are laws punishing for transgressions on this right.

When engaging in rights talk, first, please know what a right is before blabbing that your rights have been violated. Second, please make sure you actually have a right to something and not just an expectation based on your personal preferences.

If any undergraduate students are interested in rights talk, I highly recommend SOCI 360 with Dr. Brian Gran.

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