There have been lots of drama spreading across the University of Michigan's campus.
Last year, "University of Michigan student, Sydney Whack, remembers the frustration she and other African-American students felt a year ago when the name tag outside the dorm room of one of her friends was vandalized with the N-word," according to Detroit News.
UM's policy does not allow student housing staff to remove anything from a student's door. UM students are allowed to say what they want on their doors, living space, and inside their dorm buildings. University of Michigan officials are taking a closer look at this policy due to being under investigation after getting involved in a lawsuit challenging how they should handle language that may be offensive.
Sydney Whack believes hate speech should not be tolerated. "Freedom of speech does not include hate speech of any type," said Whack. She states that it is illogical and unfair to say you can be disrespectful and say hurtful things to others because you have freedom of speech.
Dylan Gilbert, another UM student, agrees. "There is a line between freedom of speech and hate speech," said Gilbert.
This is where the drama begins- Amir Baghdadchi, a UM spokesman for University housing, has officially stirred the pot. He defends UM's policy by saying, "There is no way to define 'hate speech.'"
"Eliminating such speech does nothing to change the culture in which offensive language occurs," said Baghdadchi. He mentions that the best way to go about this is to respond to that 'hate speech,' since we can't control what people say.
UM is the first university that's been sued by Speech First. Speech First's lawsuit challenged UM's policies, including prohibitions on harassment and bullying.
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