Terrorism has gripped Europe, America has two Socialist candidates running for President, people who want to kill us are freely flowing into our country, and college students are hyperventilating over chalk drawings with the name of one of the name of one of the most successful business men in America.
As if today’s college students didn’t already face enough horrors, now the poor kids have to deal with the most gruesome microaggression of all: the T-word.
Trump.
Yes, hatemongers use the name of the Republican presidential front-runner on campus. Emory University students have even seen “Trump” chalked on sidewalks!
The injured kids promptly did the only rational thing: marched on the Georgia school’s administrative center, chanting “Stop Hate,” and “You are not listening. Come speak to us, we are in pain.”
So are we, kids, so are we.
The college leaped into action, offering “emergency counseling sessions” as President James Wagner vowed to track down the heartless graffiti-scrawler.
Academia has come to this — children who can’t bear to share the same ZIP code with anyone who sees the world differently.Via:NYP
Jim Wagner, the president of the university in Atlanta, met with the protesters and later sent an email to the campus community, explaining, in part, “During our conversation, they voiced their genuine concern and pain in the face of this perceived intimidation.
Wagner added that the Freedom of Expression Committee is meeting to address whether the person or people responsible for the chalking were in compliance with Emory’s policy. He said that they would debate technical issues, such as whether or not the chalkings were done on appropriate surfaces. However, he believes that the broader concern motivating the protests had to do more with the ideas the chalkings stood for than how they were done.
“Was it really just a message about a political preference, a candidate preference, or was it a harsher message?” he asked. “And I will tell you, those who met with me were genuine in their concerns that it was the latter.”
Ultimately, Wagner said he thinks that Emory’s Respect for Open Expression Policy, which states that Emory is “committed to an environment where the open expression of ideas and open, vigorous debate and speech are valued, promoted and encouraged,” permits people to “feel as though they have safety in speaking up” and allows administrators to “feel comfortable responding to incidents and concerns like this.”
However, College senior Alex Reibman believes that the proposed administrative response will prove to be counterproductive.
“I think the best step forward would be for administrators to engage in discussions with the students,” he said. “They could actually capitalize on this and allow for a better way of freedom of expression.”
He suggested that administrators consider the possibility of implementing “free speech zones” at Emory, which would allow people to voice their personal opinions and for others to counter those opinions. “Hate speech, whether we like it or not, is a crucial part of free speech,” he said.
College freshman Amanda Obando disagreed with Reibman’s view, saying that it dismissed the personal experiences of many who felt offended by the chalking.
“My reaction to the chalking was one of fear,” she said. “I told myself that it was a prank, and that the responsible individual was probably laughing in their room. I told myself that Emory would do something about it.” Via: Emory Wheel
