Hate Speech on College Campuses
Speech
and freedom of speech is a recognized and guaranteed right provided by the
United States Constitution. It is so embedded
in our fabric and way of life, that sometimes it feels as if we take it for
granted. With that idea expressed it can
also be stated that many times people don’t really understand what freedom of
speech is or isn’t. Arguments about this
have reached the highest court in the land, and on college campuses we are
seeing discussion, protests, and events becoming the center of this issue. Campuses are environments where thoughtful
discussions and debates take place, and considering recent events happening
around the world, rhetoric is now at the forefront of the free speech debate.
From
our readings there is an article that asks the question: Are these the schools
of the future?” (Pisa, 2018) I think it is fair to ask if what we are
witnessing on campuses a prognosticator of the future. Considering the Hamas attack on Israel on
October 7, 2023, we are witnessing via various media outlets from Facebook,
CNN, FOX, Tik Tok, Twitter, and more demonstrations of Pro-Palestinian voices
in support of the actions of Hamas. This
is not relegated to the United Stated alone, but there are events like this in
London, and elsewhere abroad. The relation to this paper is that on campuses
like Harvard, and Columbia, prime Ivy League institutions there have been
ardent supporters of the acts perpetrated against the citizens of Israel, which
have been brought to light over the past days.
These atrocities and acts of cowardice were committed by actors, which
included rape, torture, kidnap, shaming, and other things that are not worth
naming.
One
organization, a student organization, has called for a “National Day of
Resistance” in support of attacks on Israel. (olohan, 2023) The statement of students that is reported
is: “We as Palestinian students in exile are PART of this movement, not in
solidarity with this movement,” the toolkit messaging says in bold. “This is a
moment of mobilization for all Palestinians. We must act as part of this
movement. All our efforts continue the work and resistance of Palestinians on
the ground.” (olohan, 2023) It is not this attitude that is the subject
but the fact that this is an open discussion on a campus by a student
organization. This is one aspect of
freedom of speech that must be understood.
Campuses are safe havens for speech, which includes speech that may not
be agreeable, and often offensive in its rhetoric. The assumption is that it is just rhetorical
but considering the event mentioned, one must wonder about the serious
consequences of fomenting speech could be fuel for appraisals or uprisings
domestically.
Of
note, several colleges seem to be included in this planning, which includes
Arizona State University, University of Arizona, Butler University in Indian,
University of Louisville, University of Binghampton, and the University of
Virginia. Ultimately, the goal of these events
is to promote political power of institutions on college campuses and
communities according to Students for justice in Palestine. (olohan, 2023) The Anti-Defamation League has come out in
response to this by stating there are concerns about tactics such as these, sit-ins,
disruptions, or the like because they create hostile environments for Jewish
students. This spirit of confrontation
could lead to violence, harassment, vandalism, or the targeting of Jewish
students or organizations. (olohan, 2023) This is the conundrum of free speech. You ae allowed to say many things in this
country as citizens, but one aspect is that many students from abroad are NOT
citizens, and come from regions that display violent rhetoric, as well as
participate in violent displays of passion and zeal as part of their cultural
views of expression with impunity. The
culture of America is averse to this and draws a very clear line of demarcation
against acts of violence against another person, not limited to intimidation,
harassment, demeaning behavior, and more.
A
telling comment on this concern came from Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for
National Security and Foreign Policy, Vice President, Victoria Coates, when she
stated in the Daily Signal, “the corrosive antisemitism that infects American
higher education today has been on ugly display since the terrorist attacks
against Israel over the weekend.” (olohan, 2023) She went on to remark that instead of
denouncing the Hamas terrorist who tortured, hunted, and murdered Jews, many in
academia, including professors, have displayed attitudes in favor of these
heinous acts. She contrasted the support
for Ukraine in its war with Russia, and the sentiments towards the Jews as if
the Jews were wrong, and they were the victims of cruelty. To continue groups in Washington D.C. are
expressing support for this behavior as well, and that seems to spur students
on campuses to follow that lead.
At
Harvard University there is some backlash over the students pro-Palestine
letter that has circulated, which blames Israel for the violence in this recent
development. The letter was penned by
the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee, which states, “hold
the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence". (Halpert,
2023) This letter was co-signed by 33 different
groups on campus. In the letter, it went
on to rebuke the former president of Harvard, and professors on campus because Larry
Summers wrote on the Twitter that he was sickened by the inhumane cruelty of
Hamas in decapitating innocent civilians.
Harvard as not addressed the letter by the students but has released its
own statement of remorse and deep consolation for the loss of life in Israel. Another letter stated the university
condemned the terrorist acts perpetrated by Hamas. (Halpert, 2023)
Members
of Congress have expressed bewilderment at Harvard and wonder what is happening
on that campus where students are emboldened to express sentiments like these
after such a tragedy. Claudine Gay,
stated, students have the right to speak for themselves, but they do have the
right to speak on behalf of Harvard. Boaz Barak, a Computer Science Professor
argued for expulsion of these student organizations and condemned the letter by
the students. It must be noted that
Harvard has a Jewish Center, Harvard Hillel, which came out against this
letter, stating it was another sign of anti-Semitism.
Another
campus is involved with the issue as they are facing backlash for a
pro-Palestinian rally that features a paraglider, which was used to attack Israel. If nothing more, this was clearly insensitive
at could be considered inflammatory as passion are still very high. (Koenig, 2023) La Fuerza Student Association is the group
that shared this poster in their ad to promote an event stating, “We will be
rallying and marching in support of the Palestinian liberation and against
Zionist occupation in Palestine.” The
group went on to invite other using the words, “FROM PALESTINE TO THE
PHILIPPINES, STOP THE US WAR MACHINE.” (Koenig, 2023) The image that has been circulated is:
The
question that has been asked is how can students that are in center of thought
and intellectualism be so callous and insensitive in response to such terrible happenings? Is that a reflection of society at large or
is this an epidemic on college campuses from the east to the west coast and
abroad? These organizations are just a
couple of the ones out of many scattered across America that have expressed
support for terrorism, kidnapping, and murder. Is this the future of college
campus experiences?
Hate
speech is protected speech, and students are growing into adulthood, which may
mean at times they don’t always exercise the best judgment. In America, the feeling on campuses is that hateful
speech should not be allowed. The
question becomes how we define it. We
have he Supreme Court definition, but as written earlier, clearly the speech
directed towards Jews after the attack by Hamas is outright hateful bordering
or sickening in the minds of many. Yet,
we are taught that you can’t exclude people based on their expressed views. This is the new battleground of the campus
speech debate. (Chemerisnky, 217) Erwin Chemerisnky
writes, “This is the first generation of college students to be taught from a
young age that bullying is wrong; they have internalized this message. Many
spoke powerfully of instances in which they or their friends had suffered from
hurtful speech. They want to make campuses inclusive for all, and they know
that hate speech causes great harm, especially among those who have been
traditionally underrepresented in higher education.” (Chemerisnky,
217) Coupled with the First Amendment as
pronounced by the Supreme Court, public institutions cannot punish speech even
if there is ground to believe it is hurtful or truly offensive. (Chemerisnky,
217) This is the case across the country, and it
should be noted that more than “350 colleges and universities adopted hate
speech codes.” (Chemerisnky, 217) The courts that consider speech codes have
declared them unconstitutional because there were too vague. At issue always is what speech constitutes a
true threat that a person can fear imminent harm to their person or real
harassment. These illustrations of
protest and support are going to be very interesting to follow because I can’t
help but think there will be some litigation going forward.
In conclusion,
campuses are institutions that must adhere to the First Amendment principles,
and at the same time have academic freedom.
Chemerisnky acknowledges that this line of free speech must be balanced
with protecting public safety and the allowance of controversial speech. (Chemerisnky,
217) In that case it is hoped that the campuses
take action to protect the safety of the students and staff. Where that line will be drawn in the future,
when it comes to expressions and demonstrations will be interesting to view.
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