THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
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INSIDE Alumni look back at their memories of KU
Following last season, Kansas volleyball will see changes to
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roster, positions The University Daily Kansan
vol. 135 // iss. 3 Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017
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Column: U.S. ignores its own behavior in treatment of North Korea Student brings female voice to fairy tales p.7
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Students weigh in: free vs. hate speech
Following the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, this month, student leaders from different political groups on campus have different opinions on the line between freedom of speech and inciting violence
Associated Press
This Aug. 11, 2017, image made from a video provided by Vice News Tonight, shows a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
REBEKAH LODOS @RebekahLodos As white nationalist rallies assemble across the nation, the University’s student political leaders are speaking on the subject of free speech, protest culture and how to affect change. “Unite the Right,” a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, two weeks ago, resulted in the death of counter-protester Heather Heyer. The clash raised questions about freedom of speech and violence. A similar free speech rally and counter-demonstration assembled in Boston last Saturday and counter-protests are being organized in San Francisco in preparation for next Saturday’s free speech rally in
the city. Student leaders of the University’s conservative political groups said free speech is protected up to the point of clear threats of violence. “If you’re instigating violence in your community, that’s where we draw the line,” said Dylan Jones, president of the KU College Republicans. “That’s what white supremacy is. You’re threatening someone else’s legitimacy based off the color of their skin.” Ian Smith, president of KU Young Americans for Freedom, said the legal line for free speech, based on Supreme Court precedent, is speech that is “deemed a credible threat of violence.” “What qualifies as free speech under the first amendment should never
be shut down,” Smith said. “What becomes the duty of everyone to shut down is speech that is a direct credible threat of violence to one person or any group of people.” KU Young Democrats communications director, Autumn Crafton, said expressing dissent through protest is an American right, but it must be done correctly. “There’s a line that I think is being crossed, and there’s a line between freedom of speech and the right to express your views and opinions and hate speech and targeted violent harassment,” Crafton said. Crafton added that she believes counter-protesting is not an infringement on freedom of expression. “If we’re going to allow
people to protest pretty much anything they want, then I think that people should be allowed to count“There’s a line that I think is being crossed, and there’s a line between freedom of speech and the right to express your views and opinions and hate speech and targeted violent harassment.” Autumn Crafton communications director for KU Young Democrats
er-protest pretty much anything they want,” Crafton said. Genelle Belmas, associate professor of media law, said that the first amendment should include the
right to be heard as well as to speak. “I hate what happened in Charlottesville,” Belmas said. “I don’t like that speech. I think that speech is awful. But if we ban that speech, we drive it into the shadows, and in the shadows, it has the ability to get more people associated with it.” Quoting Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, Belmas said the remedy for hate speech is not enforced silence, but more speech. “We don’t tolerate the speech so much as we combat it with more speech,” Belmas said. “We look those hateful individuals right in the eye, and we say ‘No, you’re wrong, and here’s why.’” Crafton encourages more listening and discus-
sion on campus with those affected by racism as a way to bring about change. “We really need to be listening to the word of the minorities and the people of color, and, you know, the black folks, the trans folks, Latinx folks. We need to be listening to them so that we understand what the actual issue is, and then working together to make a plan of action,” Crafton said. Ultimately, both conservative and liberal student leaders strongly denounced the racist message of the neo-Nazis and white nationalists. “It’s hard to believe it’s 2017, and it’s something that we’re talking about,” Jones said.
— Edited by Danya Issawi
Alpha Gamma Delta sorority closes after 94 years DARBY VANHOUTAN @DarbyVanHoutan
After more than 94 years on campus, the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority will no longer have a chapter at the University, according to a press release. The chapter, which had 73 members according to the group’s Rock Chalk Central page, completed formal recruitment on Saturday along with the 12 other sororities in the KU Panhellenic Association. However, as of Aug. 21, the release stated, the Epsilon Beta chapter of Alpha Gamma Delta has been re-
solved by the sorority’s international council. “Collegiate members of Epsilon Beta Chapter will transition to alumnae members of Alpha Gamma Delta and will continue to experience a lifetime of sisterhood through participation in alumnae activities,” the press release stated. The reason for the chapter’s resolution is currently unknown. Nonetheless, Alpha Gamma Delta International President Rie Gerah Hoehner said in the press release, “The collegiate experience is intended to be uplifting and inspiring. When that experience is
Andrea Ringgenberg/KANSAN The University’s chapter of Alpha Gamma Delta was forced to shut down this week, just days after finishing fall 2017 formal recruitment. The national organization that oversees the chapter did not give a reason for the closing.
compromised the chapter’s ability to grow and retain
membership suffers.” The chapter’s president
denied a request comment and said
for she
would not be speaking with the Kansan.