Calling Trump campaign slogans ‘hate speech’ is a threat to our democracy



A controversy about presidential politics, free speech, and creating an inclusive campus environment erupted at Emory University this week, with a group of students protesting after messages supporting Donald Trump appeared on campus.

Student protesters told the president of the private university in Atlanta that they felt threatened and intimidated by the pro-Trump messages, first reported in the Tab Emory. A national debate ensued.

Many students, expressing hurt, frustration, and outrage over the chalkings, marched to the president’s office with demands and grievances.

    Though initially President Wagner refused to send a campus-wide response, he later felt compelled to address students in an email conceding to implement “immediate refinements to certain policy and procedural deficiencies, regular and structured opportunities for difficult dialogues, a formal process to institutionalize identification, review and [the] addressing of social justice opportunities and issues and a commitment to an annual retreat to renew our efforts.”

    Wagner added that the school would review security surveillance footage near where chalk markings were placed so that perpetrators may go through the conduct violation process, according to the Emory Wheel.

    Shortly after the incident, several student groups sent out a petition demanding Trump support be recognized as hate speech.

    Many see President Wagner’s email as a harmless appeasement of the protesters’ demands. However, one should not underestimate the kind of precedent his response sets.

    While the chalkers may have violated some parts of the vague chalking policy, the remedy for these violations is stated to be a clean-up fee, not a conduct hearing.

    Additionally, the president’s statements seem to implicitly contradict support of free speech on campus. Conceding to campus loud-mouths is not a way to have respectful dialogue. Appeasing this kind of intimidation threatens to grant speech control to whoever speaks the loudest or throws the biggest tantrum.

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