What exactly is hate speech? Should it be restricted in the U.S.?
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in a 2017 case that the First Amendment protecting free speech makes no exception for hate speech, and therefore it shouldn’t be restricted. “Our reliance must be on the substantial safeguards of free and open discussion in a democratic society,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote.
However, the debate among U.S. citizens continues, especially when inflammatory statements regarding race, religion and other sensitive issues seem to cross the line of decency and respect.
“Debating Hate Speech and the First Amendment” will be one of six sessions during Free Speech Week Monday, Oct. 15, to Thursday, Oct. 18, at UW-Stout.
The hate speech discussion will be from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17, in the Oakwood Room, on the lower level of the Memorial Student Center. The speakers are Laura Beth Nielsen, Center for Legal Studies at Northwestern University, who recommends stronger legal restrictions; and Azhar Majeed, vice president of policy reform for FIRE — Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, who believes the current protections for hate speech should remain.
The session moderator will be Elizabeth Buchanan, director of UW-Stout’s Center for Applied Ethics.
The First Amendment also will be the topic from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16, in Ballroom C of the student center during the Great First Amendment Cases panel discussion. Panelists are UW-Stout faculty members Kate Edenborg, journalism; Richard Schutta, communication studies; and David Seim, history.
Free Speech Week is organized by UW-Stout’s Center for the Study of Institutions and Innovation. The schedule is available here.
Student Free Speech in the UW will be another topic during the week, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16, in Ballroom C of the Memorial Student Center. The UW System Board of Regents last fall adopted a resolution concerning freedom of expression.
A student panel, the Selma Civil Liberties Project, will be from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17, in room 206 of the University Library. Students will discuss what they learned during a summer program in Selma, Ala., while studying the civil rights movement.
The students are: Lois Cassell, of Minneapolis; Frank Janovec, of River Falls; Madalaine McConville, of Augusta; and Zipporah Turnbull, of Milwaukee.
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Photo
Azhar Majeed, FIRE
