Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
"We don't pretend this is over": After Charlottesville, colleges expect trouble.
Last edited Wed Aug 30, 2017, 09:52 PM - Edit history (2)
‘We don’t pretend this is over’: After Charlottesville, colleges expect trouble
Link to tweet
‘We don’t pretend this is over’: After Charlottesville, colleges expect trouble
By Susan Svrluga and Sarah Larimer August 29 at 3:50 PM
Chanting “White lives matter!” “You will not replace us!” and “Jews will not replace us!” white nationalists and supremacists carrying torches march through U-Va. on Aug. 11, an event that culminated in violence. (Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post)
Earlier this month, white nationalist leader Richard Spencer rallied hundreds of torch-bearing followers for a march through the heart of the University of Virginia that began a weekend of rage and violence. He hopes to go back to Charlottesville soon. ... “Colleges and universities are a great venue,” Spencer said. “I will never give those up.”
As the fall semester begins, schools across the United States are girding for fights over controversial speakers after an incendiary year that began with clashes at the University of California at Berkeley and worsened at U-Va. One by one in the days since the Charlottesville mayhem on Aug. 11 and 12, major public universities have shut their doors to Spencer and his followers. Their decisions illuminate the challenge of balancing campus values, security concerns and free speech protections.
The First Amendment “does not require a public institution to risk imminent violence to students and others,” University of Florida President W. Kent Fuchs said on Aug. 16, as the school denied a request from Spencer’s National Policy Institute that sought to rent a venue on campus for an event featuring Spencer.
Echoing others who have taken similar action, Fuchs called white nationalist rhetoric “racist” and “repugnant.” But these university leaders also insist that free speech and open debate are fundamental to higher education. And they face possible backlash — and the risk of court battles — when they deny people a platform to speak.
....
Hundreds of white nationalist demonstrators with torches marched through the University of Virginia campus on Aug. 11. (Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post)
Susan Svrluga is a reporter for the Washington Post, covering higher education for the Grade Point blog. Follow @SusanSvrluga
Sarah Larimer is a general assignment reporter for the Washington Post. Follow @slarimer
By Susan Svrluga and Sarah Larimer August 29 at 3:50 PM
Chanting “White lives matter!” “You will not replace us!” and “Jews will not replace us!” white nationalists and supremacists carrying torches march through U-Va. on Aug. 11, an event that culminated in violence. (Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post)
Earlier this month, white nationalist leader Richard Spencer rallied hundreds of torch-bearing followers for a march through the heart of the University of Virginia that began a weekend of rage and violence. He hopes to go back to Charlottesville soon. ... “Colleges and universities are a great venue,” Spencer said. “I will never give those up.”
As the fall semester begins, schools across the United States are girding for fights over controversial speakers after an incendiary year that began with clashes at the University of California at Berkeley and worsened at U-Va. One by one in the days since the Charlottesville mayhem on Aug. 11 and 12, major public universities have shut their doors to Spencer and his followers. Their decisions illuminate the challenge of balancing campus values, security concerns and free speech protections.
The First Amendment “does not require a public institution to risk imminent violence to students and others,” University of Florida President W. Kent Fuchs said on Aug. 16, as the school denied a request from Spencer’s National Policy Institute that sought to rent a venue on campus for an event featuring Spencer.
Echoing others who have taken similar action, Fuchs called white nationalist rhetoric “racist” and “repugnant.” But these university leaders also insist that free speech and open debate are fundamental to higher education. And they face possible backlash — and the risk of court battles — when they deny people a platform to speak.
....
Hundreds of white nationalist demonstrators with torches marched through the University of Virginia campus on Aug. 11. (Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post)
Susan Svrluga is a reporter for the Washington Post, covering higher education for the Grade Point blog. Follow @SusanSvrluga
Sarah Larimer is a general assignment reporter for the Washington Post. Follow @slarimer
