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The University Daily Kansan
vol. 135 // iss. 25 Thurs., Nov. 16, 2017
p. 3 How Jay Z’s “4:44” inspired a doctoral student to explore masculinity
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p. 5
‘White’ posters: free or hate speech?
After the circulation of “It’s okay to be white” posters on campus, students and a constitutional law professor weigh in on how the posters fit into First Amendment rights
REBEKAH LODOS @RebekahLodos Posters displaying the phrase “It’s okay to be white” were pinned around campus at the start of November, stirring up a conversation about free speech, legality and intent at the University. The slogan appeared in schools around the nation after originating on the online community 4chan late last month as an internet ploy akin to methods used by white nationalist groups, according to The Washington Post. The Multicultural Student Government issued a statement via Instagram on Nov. 2 in response to the posters, saying the organization “will do everything to make sure there is no need to divide the students of The University of Kansas.” The group did not officially condemn the posters as discriminatory. According to Chiquita Jackson, president of MSG, reactions to the statement varied: Some insisted the posters presented no harm, and others thought MSG’s statement was not strong enough in condemning them. Jackson said the group held an emergency meeting the evening after the flyers were reported to discuss a “plan of action” in case racist activities were to occur on campus. The plan will be announced at their next general assembly on Nov. 16 at the Kansas Union, Jackson said. Jackson said she is disappointed the University has not officially responded to the posters. Campus policy states that students may post informational materials in “general use” bulletin boards, but nowhere else on campus. The content of materials posted by students is not regulated by the University.
Caitlynn Salazar/KANSAN Young Americans for Freedom encouraged students to sign their free speech beach ball Wednesday in front of Wescoe. The beach ball was meant to promote and defend the First Amendment.
“The fact that I’m being told that these flyers are only been taken down due to the fact that they’re not in general use spaces — that’s a problem to me,” Jackson said.
“The message on the poster at face value appears to be promoting inclusivity.” Ian Smith KU Young Americans for Freedom chairman
“The First Amendment generally prevents the government — and in this context the University is
an arm of the government — from regulating speech based on the content of the speech, except under very narrow circumstances,” said Richard Levy, professor of constitutional law at the University. Levy explained that within the First Amendment, public forums are protected from any regulation with regards to the content of speech. Wescoe Beach, Levy said, is an example of a public forum, as are boards marked for “general use” by students. “The University could also probably target content if it was advocating violence in a way that directly and imminently threatened violence,” Levy said. “But with respect to posters, that also would be very difficult to show.”
Ian Smith, chairman of the KU Young Americans for Freedom, an organization that advocates for freedom of speech on campus, said that because the posters had no other text, they were clearly protected under the First Amendment. “At face value, it appears to be inclusive,” Smith said. “The message on the poster at face value appears to be promoting inclusivity.” Smith said his organization knows of no connection between the slogan and any named white supremacy groups. When it came to slogans, Jackson said she feels the “It’s okay to be white” slogan was met with less resistance than the Black Lives Matter slogan, which she thinks is often
perceived by others as a threat. Genelle Belmas, associate professor of media law at the William Allen White School of Journalism, said she thinks the posters do not constitute hate speech. Belmas said that from a legal perspective, there is no difference between the “It’s okay to be white” and the “Black Lives Matter” slogans, but that morally and ethically there may be a distinction. “I come to it from a liberal, First Amendment perspective, thinking about how speech should be protected at all cost, even speech that we hate,” Belmas said. “But I understand why we have Black Lives Matter, because I think that there needs to be a solidarity among fractured
groups, recognizing that they need to watch out for each other.” Belmas said the movement behind the posters is pretending the phrase is innocuous, while loading it with meaning. In essence, she said, promoters of the slogan are doing the same thing many critics accused the Black Lives Matter movement of doing. “Are they both protected speech? Absolutely. Would I protect it, yes I would,” Belmas said. Belmas said she believes it is clear the intent of the posters is not benign, but that intent is difficult to prove. Legally, the posters remain protected under the First Amendment.
Trespassing citation given to man near Kappa Delta
EMILY WELLBORN @EmWellborn Lawrence Police Department Officers responded to a man following a resident of the area near the Kappa Delta sorority house Monday morning before the man was spotted in the house’s parking lot. “It appears [Monday] around 10:54 a.m., an officer was dispatched to the 1600 block of High Drive regarding a gray Mazda passenger vehicle which appeared to have
followed a resident into the area as the resident was out for a run,” said Sgt. Amy Rhoads of the Lawrence Police Department in an email with the Kansan. According to Sgt. Rhoads, the man was identified by LPD officers and given a citation warning. A witness who lives in the area said that the man was parked in the Kappa Delta parking lot for over thirty minutes after the reported incident. The Kansan granted the source anonymity for her
safety. “[Officers] were in the lot with him from 10:4011 something,” she said in a message with the Kansan. The witness said that after speaking with Kappa Delta’s house mother, the man was released. No arrest was made and the man’s name was not released by Sgt. Rhoads. The president of the sorority could not be reached for comment. — Edited by Danya Issawi
Kansan file photo Lawrence Police Department responded to a man following a resident near the 1600 block of High Drive on Monday morning.