Hate Speech and Campus Codes

        Hate speech and fighting words are the only things, according to the articles we read over the weekend, that speech codes can ban on college campuses. However, the question remains as to whether limiting just speech is enough to address the oppression minorities receive. In court cases, such as Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire  in 1942, Doe v. University of Michigan in 1989 and UWM Post v. Board of Regents of University of Wisconsin in 1991, courts repeatedly ruled that the schools’ speech codes were too ‘vague’ or ‘overbroad.’ The schools goals were to limit the use of fighting words that often led to violence, but the courts ruled that the speech codes weren’t specific enough and students were left to question what crossed the line.

 In the article “Jim Crow on Fraternity Row,” it depicted how students at a fraternity, that was open to both Jewish and Christian religions, became very discriminatory to African Americans. At a party, Caucasian members of the fraternity were photographed having painted their faces brown and black, or wearing KKK costumes. Some students even went far enough to wear shirts that represented the African American race or even wear ropes around their necks with other students holding onto them. This is where speech codes become confusing. There is such a conflict because the schools have to decide which matters more: the freedom of speech and viewpoint of the students, or the protection of minorities from oppression. The Supreme Court constantly ruled that students who used speech against a race or a person could not be punished just because the statements are offensive. I agree with this ruling. Speech codes cannot be so vague to try and cover all types of hate speech, because it is unclear as to what is actually prohibited. However, some sort of code needs to be put in place in the example of students dressing in certain ways for a party. A student painting their face brown or black, wearing a rope around their neck, wearing a shirt representing an all African-American fraternity, and another student dressed in a KKK outfit holding the rope is not acceptable. That is a clear statement that the students want to take violent actions against the African-American members.

Looking at the “Restrictions on Expression Rights” code at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, I was not surprised. In Illinois, there is a wide range of races, religions and ethnic backgrounds. Students who live in Illinois know that, and have become accustomed to respecting people with different backgrounds than one’s self. I think that the policies that the university put in place are to address mostly people from other states that are attending the school, or even those from Illinois who were raised in a different way. If I were to attend U of I, I would definitely feel comfortable with these codes. There is a difference between joking around about race, religion and ethnicity and meaning it in a much more serious manner. I do believe that everyone makes fun of everyone else, but we all find ways to make fun of our own backgrounds as well. Because we have become accommodated to being around many different people, it only becomes natural to see the flaws in our own cultures. I think that the University of Illinois’ policies address the issues while understanding that someone saying a simple statement as a joke that may be offensive is not as serious as one that is threatening or harmful.