Disagreements and controversy surrounding Richard Spencer’s October event with the University of Florida was the theme for the annual UF Provost’s Symposium, which began on Thursday and concludes today at Pugh Hall.
The discussion topic chosen this holiday season by Provost Joe Glover and also the Bob Graham Center focused entirely on the growth of extremism on campus and country wide.
On October 19, white nationalist Richard Spencer spoke on campus along at the Curtis M. Phillips Center to the Performing Arts, just a few months from a similar rally in Charlottesville, VA that turned deadly. The university’s legal obligation to let Spencer to communicate in became a concern for some people in the campus community.
The event invited participation from faculty and staff, and presented speakers which include professor Amir Erez, through the Warrington College of Business, Dr. Diana Boxer, within the Department of Linguistics and Clay Calvert, director of the Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project.
During today’s morning session, Calvert defended Spencer’s right to speak on campus. He was quoted saying people must fully accept that hate speech is normally protected below the first amendment and stressed the importance of being neutral when analyzing freedom of speech.
“The first amendment is usually a viewpoint-neutral document. It doesn’t say good speech, or bad speech, or republican speech, or democratic speech or communist speech,” he said “The majority can’t control the initial amendment.”
Chelsea Dinsmore, chair of digital production services at UF libraries, attended Thursday’s session to find out her colleagues’ ideas, hoping for answers the way to address hate speech on campus.
“I was deeply troubled from the Richard Spencer event here on campus,” she said. Dinsmore said her children, who attend Alachua County public schools, needed to do lock-down drills in school due to Spencer’s event. She said she has not been sure the right way to explain why which was happening.
UF President Kent Fuchs accompanied the provost on Thursday in welcoming faculty and staff to the symposium. He hoped the public with the event event get yourself a better comprehension of the law, for example protocol for public universities and discovering how every person is affected differently by another’s exercise of freedom of expression.
In preparation for Spencer’s visit, Fuchs said he advised students to not engage the speaker as a way of protecting the well-being from the those against Spencer and combat his views. Nevertheless, he supports individuals that went to protest inside and outside the Phillips Center.
“I understand those who feel they cannot let his message go unchecked.” Fuchs said.
Sana Mahmood, associated with Islam on Campus at UF, agreed while using Fuchs’ strategy and said her organization also advised the Muslim community on campus to not become liked by them the speaker.
“Just being yourself without being afraid of anyone is a wonderful technique of standing to opportunity seekers like Spencer,” Mahmood said.
On Wednesday prior to symposium, Mahmood was in Turlington Plaza with the first day’s Islam appreciation month, inviting women to try out wearing a hijab for just a day. The 21-year-old junior was glad that faculty and staff are engaging in dialogue about extremism with the symposium.
Since the UF event in October, Spencer continues targeting university campuses for his speech. He’s in a legal struggle with the University of Cincinnati, following the university required him to repay nearly $11,000 in security fees, good Washington Post.
“That will be the only a valuable thing that came out of the Richard Spencer event,” Fuchs said. “A true, variety of self-examination bills . people about racism, broadly, but the other associated issues: our federal laws, how those laws were interpreted as well as responsibility of universities.”
