My oldest son is a junior at the University of Florida.<\/p>\n
Today, there will be a man speaking on campus who is incredibly controversial. He has repeatedly articulated some shockingly divisive rhetoric. Meet Richard Spencer, president of the National Policy Institute, who promotes white superiority and thus identity politics.<\/p>\n
What should the university do?<\/p>\n
Spencer tends to attract supporters and protestors who have a perceived increased propensity for violence. Most of the supporters and protestors reportedly will not be associated with the university in any way.<\/p>\n
Again, my son is there.<\/em><\/p>\n (When we are directly affected \u2014 when our friends or family are affected \u2014 we tend to be more passionate\u2026 less objective\u2026 and maybe even less tolerant of different opinion or approach. Which leads to today\u2019s clunkiest sentence: who we love most, who is affected the most, most affects our perspective and response.)<\/em><\/p>\n To be clear, Spencer was not invited by the university; his organization rented space on campus, and because UF is a public and not private university, any denial of Spencer speaking would raise a First Amendment issue.<\/p>\n Isn\u2019t that the crux of much of the current conflict?<\/p>\n There is a battle going on in regard to how much free speech we should allow.<\/p>\n Remember that protest, too, is a form of speech.<\/p>\n So\u2026 how much free speech should we allow?<\/em><\/p>\n \u2026 especially when it offends us. To offend is to wholeheartedly disrespect.<\/p>\n The challenge is that \u201cto offend\u201d is also an incredibly vague verb. It\u2019s totally subjective. What\u2019s offensive to some is not necessarily offensive to another. We get to pick and choose what we\u2019re offended by, and we typically don\u2019t have as much patience with another person\u2019s offense, as it\u2019s simply easier to dismiss another\u2019s rationale rather than attempt to sincerely understand why they feel differently.<\/p>\n While it would have been easier for the University of Florida to deny Spencer\u2019s speaking \u2014 especially since university president W. Kent Fuchs has soundly denounced Spencer\u2019s rhetoric \u2014 the school has instead decided to \u201clead the way.\u201d<\/p>\n Said Fuchs two days ago: \u201cI urge our campus community to join together, respect one another and promote positive speech, while allowing for differing opinions\u2026 It is up to every student, faculty member, staff member, and myself to demonstrate our university values of respect and inclusion in all that we do. We have an opportunity to lead the way.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n I will share that such has not been a popular opinion with a vocal contingent of parents. Several from their understandable bent \u2014 no doubt because their sons and daughters are affected \u2014 want the university to do more\u2026 from shutting Spencer down to calling off class for the day. Note that the school is incurring $500,000 in security costs and bringing in significantly more law enforcement, attempting to be as prepared as possible for any violence.<\/p>\n What I also see is that the University of Florida believes in the totality of education. They want their students to learn to think on their own, preparing them for the world that awaits after these four some years; some of what awaits is not pretty and seems to be getting worse. The school seems clear, no less \u2014 as much as they disagree with this divisive antagonist \u2014 that they do not need to become an echo chamber, a place where students are only exposed to ideas with which they agree.<\/p>\n Ok, deep breath. Time to allow this to unfold. Time for this parent to say a prayer or two\u2026<\/p>\n For the safety of the students in Gainesville\u2026<\/p>\n For each of us\u2026 to join together, respect one another and promote positive speech\u2026 while allowing for differing opinions\u2026<\/p>\n Respectfully\u2026 My oldest son is a junior at the University of Florida. Today, there will be a man speaking on campus who is incredibly controversial. He has repeatedly articulated some shockingly divisive rhetoric. Meet Richard Spencer, president of the National Policy Institute, who promotes white superiority and thus identity politics. What should the university do? Spencer … <\/p>\n
\nAR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"