Despite the creation of a campus commission to discuss issues related to free speech on the University of California, Berkeley, campus following the cancellation of a student organization’s Free Speech Week, school administrators still do not appear to be willing to respect the free speech rights of all students on the campus.
According to the Daily Californian, UC Berkeley’s official school newspaper, the first public hearing got off to a rough start. Attendees were reluctant to participate and Dean of Students Joseph Greenwell was forced to go up to the microphone to “get the ball rolling.”
In his remarks, Greenwell mentioned that he had tried to work with many departments on campus, most notably the Division of Equity and Inclusion, and attempted to work with various campus administrators who had complained about doing their jobs while they felt certain views expressed at campus events are views with which they disagreed.
“If they don’t understand why [students were choosing to hold certain events on campus], how can they support students?” Greenwell asked.
Despite efforts by Berkeley administrators to heal the divide while trying to ensure free speech, representatives from a number of campus departments made it clear that they were still not in agreement with the fact that the campus should allow certain views.
Blake Simons, an assistant director for the African-American Student Development Center, said Free Speech Week was something that he had never witnessed anything like before in his life. He complained about the increased police presence on campus, arguing that additional policing does not make the campus safer, despite the fact that police officers were there to ensure safety if riots occurred.
“A lot of my students did not feel safe to be on campus,” Simons complained. “Policing is not inherently safety.”
Free Speech Week was originally supposed to be held on the UC Berkeley campus in late September 2017 by the student organization the Berkeley Patriot. The four-day event was initially supposed to feature a number of conservative speakers, including conservative commentator Ann Coulter and former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, as well as the provocative commentator Milo Yiannopoulos. The event was canceled following safety concerns by the Berkeley Patriot student organization after fellow students and the surrounding community made threats of rioting and violence.
John Patrick (@john_pat_rick) is a graduate of Canisius College and Georgia Southern University. He interned for Red Alert Politics during the summer of 2012 and has continued to contribute regularly.
