Austin Peay State University (APSU)’s Office of Equity, Access and Inclusion officials have announced they will fight hate speech on campus, even though one official said no known examples of hate speech have occurred there.
Additionally, APSU officials said they have no way to precisely define what is and isn’t hate speech.
Through a press release, Austin Peay officials have publicized this campaign, which they call “That’s Enough!”
“There is no legal definition of ‘hate speech’ under U.S. law, just as there is no legal definition for rudeness, unpatriotic speech or any other kind of speech that people might condemn,” said APSU Chief Diversity Officer LaNeeça Williams in an email to The Tennessee Star.
“Generally, however, hate speech is any form of expression through which speakers intend to vilify, humiliate, or incite hatred and/or violence against a group or a class of persons on the basis of race, religion, skin color, sexual identity, gender identity, ethnicity, disability or national origin.”
Williams went on to say that the “That’s Enough!” initiative “is not a punitive measure.”
“I currently do not have any information about any documented incidents of hate speech on campus in the past two years,” Williams said.
“Austin Peay State University is simply trying to be proactive in providing awareness and educational tools for campus members.”
The “That’s Enough!” campaign, the APSU press release said, stipulates that unkindness or bias on campus is unacceptable. As soon as someone hears it he or she should say, out loud, “That’s Enough!”
According to the campaign, someone speaking in a hateful way may react by saying, “I was joking,’” the press release said.
“Williams said this is merely an excuse, and even if someone is joking, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be held accountable for what they said.”
Williams told The Star that APSU wants “a cultural and environmental shift” that minimizes social injustice “through hateful speech, gestures and symbols.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “APSU Campus” by Riffsyphon1024. CC BY-SA 3.0.
What a bunch of liberal idiots running this campus.
Of course if they could get real jobs they would not be in academia.