On Aug. 12, a modern organization based around white supremacy held a rally in Charlottesville, Va. More than 30 people were injured in the demonstration, and one woman was killed.
The events revealed that both hate speech and hate crime are still ongoing issues. According to the FBI crime report in 2015, there were 5,850 criminal incidents and 6,885 related offenses that were motivated by bias against race, ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender and gender identity.
College campuses can be diverse spaces, and thus have to find the fine line between protecting free speech and restraining voices of hate.
Campuses like Harvard University have taken precautions against hate speech by passing policies that restrict saying “discriminatory things.”
According to Colorado Mesa University President Timothy Foster, hate speech has been at a minimum on campus. Grand Junction as a whole has not encountered many hate groups, with the exception of a KKK chapter that visits from the front range.
“I think that if you’re going to be in favor of free speech then you’re going to have to put up with speech that you don’t like,” Foster said. “And I think that’s the point of a college campus: is how you choose to either not stand and listen or to listen and be able to accommodate whatever that speech is.”
One of the things that can be done as a campus is to create a safe and comfortable environment for everyone.
“I think that’s what you’re seeing on some campuses is that sort of coddling welcoming environment where you don’t have to put up with anything you don’t agree with, which I think is not an educational experience,” said Foster.
