Hate speech is nothing new to American universities. It is defined as language that slanders a particular group based on race, color, gender, nationality, as well as other characteristics. Though colleges try to combat hate speech with speech codes, these codes are never upheld in court, and as a result the victims are left to suffer. Sadly, most victims are minorities who have been historically oppressed, such as African Americans and women. In order to help the minorities targeted by hate speech on college campuses, the sufferers must be empowered to speak out through the creation of a national organization and eventually the Supreme Court must rule that the freedom of speech does not include hate speech.
An increase of hate speech on college …show more content…
In fact, one-fifth of minority students in colleges have reported being targeted by harassment or hate speech (Wood), this is a large number especially considering the fact that 80 percent of all harassment on campuses goes unreported (Ueleman). Nelli Eggert says of her experiences with hate speech for being Jewish at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, “It feels like every time I walk somewhere or go down a hallway I am going to be verbally attacked.” She continues, “I am extremely worried about my safety because these people are coming up to me in groups when I am alone.” One woman even told Eggert to “go burn in an oven” in reference to the concentration camps during the Holocaust. She has also been called perjoratives such as, “terrorist, baby killer and Christ killer.” Eggert also mentions how the verbal assaults have affected her grades and how she no longer hangs out on campus (Dyches; Mintz). Eggert is a prime example to why hate speech should not be protected by our Constitution. Students who are tormented by hate speech are unable to concentrate on their studies. Schools are supposed to provide an environment in which all students have equal opportunities to participate, instead of being silenced by the majority. Other examples of hate speech include an incident in February of 2003 at the University of Virginia. Daisy Lundy, an African American student council presidential candidate, …show more content…
Freedom of speech, according to the US Courts includes, the right to express one’s opinion, to remain silent, to use offensive words, and to use symbolic speech to convey messages. The first amendment, however, does not protect words that incite violence directly, libel or articles printed with the objection of the school administration (Free Speech). If the Supreme Court adds hate speech to the restrictions, we enable colleges to enact speech codes and fight against hate speech legally. Senate Assembly chair Ejner J. Jensen indicates that, “Speech codes publicly announce a university’s support of civil rights and equal dignity of all persons; the failure to adopt a speech code implies that the University condones hate speech.” Although failure to adopt a speech code makes the college seem to accept hate speech, they are believed to go against the Freedom of Speech. Currently, an organization known as Foundation for Individual Rights in Education takes public universities to court for enacting speech codes and makes it harder for colleges to pursue their policies. The organization now even has University of Oklahoma’s president, David Boren, under fire for expelling two students of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon involved in singing a racist