College “bias response” officers have trouble balancing free speech with inclusion and other social justice principles, an October study shows.
Ryan Miller, a higher education professor at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, and four other professors orchestrated sampled 21 bias response team officials from departments like diversity affairs and LGBTQ centers, finding that many experienced problems preserving First Amendment protections while also catering to students’ sensitivities.
“Our hands were tied because of the freedom of speech,” said Lisa, a senior diversity officer, to Miller. The study did not identify participants by their last name or university. “It was ugly,” she said.
Her college’s lawyers deemed some incidents as free speech and the officer could not take action.
“I definitely believe in freedom of speech, but also I want to make sure that we are a safe and supportive community,” said April, another administrator, to Miller. “I think that we can do both of those things. Hopefully, people recognize that they’re not trying to be harmful or hurtful and want to be better in the future.”
Bias response teams are often tasked with differentiating between free speech and hate speech, Miller explains. The task often varies with respect to the public versus private status of the university, but also the location of the incident in question on campus.
“If it negatively impacts the community and the way that we function, and [the college] is private, so we’re private property,” said Patricia, a diversity affairs director at a private school. “We have a little bit of flexibility with some things around what we allow for you to put up in your residence hall. Does what you’re doing create a hostile environment? We can be a little bit more aggressive about that kind of stuff.”
Miller’s interviewees described the incidents via “educational moments,” rather than punishment. This involved informing the offended group about actions they could take to express themselves, as well as informing the perpetrators of free speech about “the impact of the use of free speech on the victims of the incident,” the study’s authors wrote.
Bias response teams give education on legal issues pertaining to free speech and diversity, Miller and his co-authors recommended. (RELATED: Investigator: Student’s Bake Sale Mocking Progressives Did Not Violate Federal Law)
The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to Miller for comment but received none in time for press.
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