The First Amendment protects even hate speech

The First Amendment is unique in its protections of speech, especially its protections of hate speech, which is harmful to many groups of people in the US.

On Thursday, April 16, students from a Pittsburgh-area high school organized an “anti-gay day” in response to the “Day of Silence,” an event “calling attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in schools,” according to People Magazine.

The students, wearing flannel to signify their counter-protest, wrote “anti-gay” on their hands and bullied homosexual students, posting Bible verses on their lockers and calling them sexually explicit slurs.

One of the students, Zoe Johnson, recounts the day to Buzzfeed. “I got called a dyke, a faggot. They were calling us every horrible name you could think of.”

“This is a troubling turn of events,” said Sue Kerr, the editor-in-chief of Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents. “These kids didn’t just spontaneously pull a homophobic move. They have a plan. They have coordinated outfits.”

According to the local news station, many students had claimed that they were now afraid to go to school because of the harassment they received due to their sexual orientation. Johnson even took to Facebook, saying “This is why so many students hate going to school.”

Another student, Nicole Wagers, stated, “It’s sad to me. It’s a high school. We should feel safe here. We don’t, and it’s starting to get worse.” The superintendent of the school, Dr. Erica Kolat, agreed with the student in a public announcement, stating, “We resolve to ensure that all children can grow and learn in a safe, supportive environment free from discrimination.”

Unfortunately, hate speech like this is protected under the First Amendment. In a 1992 Supreme Court case, R.A.V. v. St. Paul, a city ordinance banning “symbol, object, appellation, characterization, or graffiti…that could arouse anger, alarm or resentment in others on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, or gender” was deemed unconstitutional. This is because “content-based regulations are presumptively invalid,” according to a University of Pennsylvania Journal of Law.

Not only are the students allowed to hold an “anti-gay day” under constitutional law, but if they were to be suspended or expelled, they could sue and, most likely, win under constitutional law on the basis of “content-based regulations.”

By following constitutional law, lawmakers and, in this case, teachers value freedom of speech, including hate speech, more than a safe learning environment. By allowing students to write “anti-gay” on their hands and raise a noose in a classroom, school authorities are allowing a threat to a substantial population.

The Supreme Court needs to revise its precedent in order to accommodate for any population, including the LGBT population. No one should feel threatened in school, the workplace, or any sort of environment.

http://pittsburgh.suntimes.com/pit-news/7/114/121116/anti-gay-day-lynch/

http://www.buzzfeed.com/davidmack/mcguffey-high-anti-gay-day#.hvgaWWm4y

http://academic.udayton.edu/race/06hrights/waronterrorism/churchburn01c.htm

http://www.people.com/article/anti-gay-day-high-school-students-pennsylvania-day-silence

http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/local/students-pittsburgh-area-school-allegedly-organize/nkxJ/

Read more stories from: The Retriever Weekly

UMBC has been named to the Times Higher Education “100 Under 50” ranking for the fourth consecutive year — one of seven U.S. universities to be recognized on this year’s list. THE’s “100 Under 50” ranks the top 100 universities worldwide under 50 years old.

“So many universities in this ranking have shown they can match the ancient global elite and have proven that with the right drive, what others have developed over centuries can be achieved in a matter of decades,” said Phil Baty, editor of THE. “They are a truly exciting and dynamic group of institutions which should serve as a lesson to the rest of the world – that the traditional global world order is not unassailable and visionary young universities can break through.”

Click here for details.

Student groups plant trees for Earth Week

With the support of Facilities Management, dedicated students on campus met Friday to plant and maintain trees around the Commons Garage and the nearby stream. This initiative is part of UMBCs dedication to sustainability and reflects its “Tree Campus USA” status.

“Tease it,” says Donna Anderson, UMBCs manager of landscape and grounds. She is wearing a green Facilities Management windbreaker. “Tease the roots — don’t pat it. Tease them with your fingers. Open it up. Tease, tease it, there you go.” A group of five students are huddled around a thin sapling, patting tentatively at the dense root ball just freed from a black plastic pot.

Along with a few others, these students have gathered behind the Commons Garage on a warm Friday afternoon. A table is set up with donuts and a vegetable plate, while piles of gloves and shovels are nearby. Parked on the grass is a yellow backhoe. No one knows if it has anything to do with this service project, which is more of a hand-trowel operation.

These students have assembled under Anderson’s supervision as part of this year’s Earth Week. Along with planting six new trees, students are cleaning up the area, weeding and mulching around older plantings.

“This is the perfect time to plant trees and clean up trees — weed trees,” said Anderson. “This site was chosen because three years ago we’d had a huge tree planting project that was in partnership with a stream bank restoration project and the trees needed to be maintained.”

The trees were planted along a grassy slope and streambed located between Park Road and the Joseph Beuys Tree Garden, which has been designated a No-Mow area.

“One of the purposes of the no-mow area is to reduce our energy usage,” said Anderson, “but also letting the grass and things grow up between the trees helps to buffer the stream.”

The service project, though supported by Facilities Management, was actually initiated by students. “SGA reached out to me and wanted to do a tree planting, and we do something with trees every year because we are a Tree Campus USA,” Anderson said, “I told them to go ahead and do it, and I’ll provide the materials.”

Those materials included the six saplings, tools and gloves. This year’s project, though small in scale, spawns from a tradition of eco-friendly projects on campus. According to Anderson, over 400 trees were planted along the same stream bank three years ago. “Over 50 people came out that day to help plant,” said Anderson.

Turnout this year was nowhere near as large, but it was a sufficient size to get the job done. Many of the students who came to plant were encouraged by first year human-centered computing masters student Marilyn Iriarte.

“We are part of the English Language Institute,” Iriarte said, “but we just saw the event online and we just wanted to join it, since it’s the Earth Week … most of the people followed me! I’m just really good at convincing people, I guess.”

Thanks to Iriarte and the other groups that recruited workers, as well as Anderson’s support, the trees are safely planted. They will continue to improve the stream, as well as the aesthetic quality of campus. UMBC may be a growing university, but its students and faculty have shown a dedication to staying down to earth.

Read more stories from: The Retriever Weekly

The Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) event in the Skylight Room

UMBC Hillel welcomed anyone who was interested in hearing a Holocaust survivor’s story and remembering victims of the Holocaust.

This year, Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) ran from the evening of April 15 to the evening of April 16. This day is devoted to remembering the victims of that horrific time in history. Unfortunately, there will come a time where Holocaust survivors will no longer be able to pass on their stories.

In honor of Holocaust survivor Dr. Avigdor Niv, UMBC Hillel held an event in the Commons Skylight Room on Monday, April 20. The chairs were gathered together in a circle, and they began with a reading of 100 names of victims from students’ families. Later on, Niv said “Added to that list you guys read, I could add over 20 of my own family members.”

Michele Osherow, associate professor of English and director of UMBCs Judaic Studies Program, then began reading a series of poems related to the Holocaust. Following her reading of four poems, Niv sat down in front of the crowd and began his story.

He was born in Transylvania, Romania where his grandfather had a family business. “In 1942, the Germans came through and took Jewish workers to forced labor camps,” said Niv. “They took my father and that was last time I saw him. He passed away a year later.” His grandfather then decided to move to the center of Hungary.

Shortly after the Germans moved his family into a ghetto in 1944, three trains arrived. “Train one and three went to Auschwitz. Luckily, they put us on train two for whatever reason. Train two went to Vienna,” he said. Since Niv was only a child during this time, he didn’t fully understand what was going on until he heard the explosions in the streets.

“The source [of prejudice and persecution] is from ignorance, lack of knowledge. I encourage people to educate themselves and strive to find the truth,” said Niv. As a survivor, he was able to achieve his goals of getting into medical school and becoming an orthopedic surgeon. He met his wife in school and together they had a son and two daughters, each of whom is married with two children.

Michelle Czarnecki, an attendee and senior French major, said, “I’m thankful that he shared his story and I was able to hear it. Miracles can come out of negative situations.” Niv stressed the importance of people reading, listening and standing up for what they feel is right.

One of the hosts, Alexa Kempner, a junior English major, said, “My co-host, Jen Wachtel, contacted the Baltimore Jewish Council, specifically their Speaker’s Bureau, and submitted a formal request for a Holocaust survivor affiliated with this organization to come and speak at our Yom HaShoah event.” Once he concluded his story, members of the audience asked questions and thanked him for sharing his experiences of such a tragic time in his life and in history.

Niv also plans on speaking at his grandson’s Hebrew school in two weeks. He said, “I think my children look up to me for coming out of this in one piece.”

Read more stories from: The Retriever Weekly

Stephanie Castner choreographs an “on pointe” piece

Stephanie Castner choreographed and presented a modern and jazz dance piece for URCAD.

Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day, which was held on April 22, showcased the most gifted and talented UMBC students from many departments including biology, psychology, dance and visual arts.

Douglas Hamby, an associate professor of dance and director of the Linehan Artist Scholars program, introduced a series of choreographed pieces by prestige dance scholars. Stephanie Castner, a junior Linehan Artist Scholar majoring in dance and media and communication studies, shared her piece titled Touched.

Castner has been dancing since she was four years old and has continuously grown as a dancer, student, choreographer and performer. After spending the summer at the Broadway Dance Center in New York City and working alongside professionals in the field for eight weeks, Castner described the influence the experience had on crafting her technique.

Overall, BDC was a great experience for her. “I got to do mock auditions in front of casting directors and agents,” said Castner, “and got to work with world renowned choreographers. It was incredible.” She believes working with such professionals is one of the best ways to improve as a dancer and choreographer.

Sheila Barker and Shelly Hutchinson were two of the mentors and teachers at BDC that served as great influences on Castner’s work. She said, “[Barker] was hard on me, but that was only for the better.”

Castner had worked with Hutchinson multiple times and was happy to be working with her again. She said, “[Hutchinson] gave me the opportunity to be in a piece of hers after my program ended. She inspires me with everything she does, and it was a privilege to work with her.”

Castner believes dance is a competitive field. She said, “I have seen that the dancers who are most successful in their work are those who have a wide array of dance training and who have worked closely with professionals in the field.”

Stylistically, the UMBC dance department is strictly modern. While choreographing Touched, Castner wanted to abandon modern techniques and challenge herself by combining what she learned at BDC with her knowledge from UMBC.

Jazz dance allows for more freedom in movement while modern is more technical. By combining these two different styles, Touched became a rather unique piece compared to other pieces in the UMBC dance department.

Junior dance majors, Nerissa Vasconcells and Ryan Bailey were chosen to perform this piece. “It has been really cool seeing them grow from our first rehearsal, back in September, to our last rehearsal this past Saturday,” said Castner.

Her ultimate goal was to use the skills she learned at BDC to create a piece that investigated the contrast between partnering in modern and jazz dance.

For many dancers, like Castner, performances like these are avenues for getting their names out. It is unknown what the future holds for Stephanie, but after graduating next spring, she hopes to move back to New York City and expand her career in dancing.

She said, “It all depends on who is there, who sees what I can do and who wants to take a chance on me.”

Photo Credit: Patrick Alejandro

Read more stories from: The Retriever Weekly

Dr. Robert Musil gives book talk for Earth week

As part of Earth Week at UMBC, Dr. Robert K. Musil presented a talk on his latest book.

On April 21, UMBC had the honor of inviting Dr. Robert K. Musil, a celebrated author and professor from American University in Washington, D.C., to the seventh floor of the Albin O. Kuhn Library to discuss his latest publication, “Rachel Carson and Her Sisters: Extraordinary Women Who Have Shaped America’s Environment.”

Musil is the president of the Rachel Carson Council, senior fellow at the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University and former CEO of Physicians for Social Responsibility.

The booking of the event fell on the week of Earth Week, which has been celebrated since 1970. Musil focused his talk on the legacy of American environmental pioneer and scientist Rachel Carson, who he said, “inspired me immensely to write this book.”

Widely known for her 1962 bestseller “Silent Spring,” Carson was the first American to combine the love of nature and a concern for human health through the advancement of the environmental movement. The cover of the book features Carson holding a pair of binoculars and sitting on top of a mountain, drawing the connection to her societal contribution.

In an effort to initiate this event, Dr. Mary Rivkin, who teaches courses for the Early Childhood Education program, received an invitation to a launching for Musil’s book last spring and thought it would be a good book for students to know about.

“I corresponded with him and invited him to our campus last fall, given his busy schedule,” she said. In addition to her childhood education endeavors, she teaches a course that aims toward saving campus trees from the invasion of English ivy.

“Upon choosing a speaker, I realized the significance of Rachel Carson and other notable female activists and writers in modern environmentalism.” Rivkin said. Musil’s interest and knowledge in the field made him an ideal speaker.

The timing was appropriate as well. “Given the current environmental crises, I thought it was worthwhile to inform students of this history and encourage them to participate,” Rivkin said. Over the many diverse topics, one message was consistent: the world is ours to protect, so it is our responsibility to take better care of it and the people in it.

Musil kept the attention of the audience with his light-hearted anecdotes, reminiscent of Bob Barker of “The Price Is Right.” He left the audience pondering over how Carson would have dealt with contemporary environmental issues concerning global warming, nuclear radiation, pesticides and fracking.

Photo Credit: Patrick Alejandro

Read more stories from: The Retriever Weekly

Media and Communications undergraduate explores religion and fandom at URCAD

Mercedes Morina, a senior media and communication studies student, presented her findings on the link between religious influence and fandom culture at URCAD.

Mercedes Morina is a senior media and communications major who stood with poise and confidence at Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day to present her findings on a potential linkage between religious influence and fandom.

The project began as her capstone project for MCS 499, but Morina decided she wanted to also open up her research to URCAD. In her research, she posed, “How does a religious upbringing limit, prevent and/or influence the manifestation of celebrity and pop cultural fandom?”

She stated in her thesis that she believes those with stronger ties to religion are less likely to become fanatical about a certain celebrity or fandom. Her research appears to support her thesis, with 60% of University of Calgary students stating that they are influenced by pop culture, while 61% of Christians on UMBC’s campus said that pop culture was either not influential at all or of little influence.

Monica was inspired to undertake the daunting URCAD presentation by a lengthy conversation with classmates about the craziness that surrounds celebrities. “I didn’t feel like I ever had that experience, and I wondered why that was,” Morina said.

She explained that she first thought it was the age gap between her and a particular celebrity. Then she thought it was race related, since she didn’t really look like the people the star had dated. However, she had an epiphany of sorts.

She realized that her religious upbringing — Seventh-Day Adventist to be exact — and the commandment of “you shall have no other gods before me” kept her from being drawn into the fanatical culture. With this thesis in mind, she set out to see if it stood up against the facts.

Morina pulled data from research done at the University of Calgary, which noted that 60% of students said they were influenced by pop culture, while 40% were not. She then compared this data to her own data collected through anonymous surveys of Christian members of the UMBC community.

Her survey asked broad questions such as “how influential is pop culture,” “can pop culture and religion mix,” and “is it ok to look up to pop culture figures?”

She then conducted two in-depth ethnographic interviews that were about an hour to an hour and a half. The interviews featured personal questions that were blunt, without being disrespectful. “Sometimes, you have to realize that the questions will rub people the wrong way,” said Morina.

“I pulled quotations from those interviews that I felt best exemplified the research,” said Morina of the quotes from the interviews included in her presentation.

As Morina took questions after her presentation at URCAD, she made it a point to clarify that her research only deals in the links between Christianity and fandom, but that she would be interested in exploring how other religions impact fandom. “We could use it as a way to start studying how cultural upbringings affect fandom.”
Editor’s note: The data in this article is conveyed as it was presented at URCAD.

Read more stories from: The Retriever Weekly

In response to recent events that have transpired in Baltimore over the last several days, several UMBC faculty have engaged in thoughtful reflection and dialogue in the news around the complex challenges facing the Baltimore community. The substantive commentaries come from different viewpoints and add various perspectives to the ongoing conversation of the past week’s events.

In The Conversation, School of Public Policy Professor John Rennie Short wrote about three background factors that should be considered when asking why the violence and riots took place in response to the death of one young man: the momentum of the police brutality narrative, the lack of trust between police and minority black populations, and the stifled economic opportunities and limited social mobility of many inner-city residents. “This country needs to address structural issues of poverty and economic opportunity as well as immediate concerns of how we make the streets safer for all our citizens,” Short wrote.

Kate Drabinski, lecturer of gender and women’s studies, wrote about decades of disinvestment in Baltimore and uneven development that have disadvantaged largely low-income communities. “One of the dangers of seeing the riot as an event is precisely this danger of losing historical perspective about the ways the neighborhoods burning on television are the very ones that have been cut off from the growth of the city’s downtown core,” she wrote. Drabinski was also featured in a Bicycling Magazine article about her observations of Monday’s events.

Kimberly Moffitt, an associate professor of American studies, examined Baltimore City Schools and the important element of focusing on the mental health needs and frustrations of many students. “Now we are faced with the next generation of marginalized youth who demand to be heard, even as they are seen as counterproductive by those who continue to ignore their physical, academic, and psychological needs to be successful in an educational setting,” Moffitt explained. She also participated in a roundtable discussion on Southern California Public Radio about her thoughts on this issue.

Rita Turner, a lecturer of American studies, wrote an article for The Conversation that focused on environmental health issues: “Environmental injustice may seem like a secondary issue in the face of massive police brutality, poverty, and civil uprising, and I don’t suggest that it should preempt conversations about other forms of systemic racism. But as we talk about the devaluing of black lives and black bodies that has taken place in Baltimore and across the country and the world, we cannot ignore the ways that this manifests in a subtle and constant disregard for the health of marginalized communities,” she wrote.

In a Baltimore Sun op-ed, Suzanne Lea, an adjunct professor of sociology, wrote about an in-depth study she conducted with her students to examine trends in police deadly force incidents that have occurred in the Baltimore/DC area over the last 25 years. The column outlined five key findings from the research, including the vast majority of incidents occurred early in an officer’s career. “Too often, without a video, police officers are exonerated via internal investigations based on rules that prioritize officers’ accounts. Let’s start collecting the data we need to track and systematically examine such incidents and use it to challenge and improve upon our policing until it fully reflects the integrity of our American ideal of equality under the law,” Lea wrote.

In the Huffington Post, Amy Bhatt, an assistant professor of gender and women’s studies, examined the question “what does it mean to be safe?” In her article, Bhatt discussed her experience living in the Federal Hill neighborhood and provided a closer look at discussions of property, race, and resources in light of recent events. “When we talk about safety, we need to look beyond our neighborhoods and ask how we decide who stays safe and who does not,” she wrote.

In his column in the Baltimore Sun, Thomas Schaller, professor and chair of political science, discussed the impact of inequality on the past week’s events. “Rather, the fact of social protest is prima facie evidence of political disgruntlement, and of an extant imbalance between those who wield power and those subjected to it. When these inequities persist and have no other form of expression, there will be unrest. And in this case, those suffering from Baltimore’s power imbalances are disproportionately black.”

Christopher Corbett, professor of the practice of English, wrote a column in Reuters in which he discussed his observations and experience living in Baltimore for 35 years after moving from Maine. In his article, “Baltimore’s truth in Freddie Gray’s life and death,” Corbett examined the history and current state of many of the city’s neighborhoods in the context of the events of the last several days.

Jana Kopelentova Rehak, a visiting professor of anthropology, recently published an article on her applied anthropology collaborative project in Baltimore in partnership with Habitat for Humanity to address urban inequality, poverty, and health in relation to housing.

To read the complete news coverage, click below:

Baltimore riots: the fire this time and the fire last time and the time between (The Conversation)
Why Baltimore burns for Freddie Gray (Baltimore Sun)
Baltimore’s truth in Freddie Gray’s life and death (Reuters)
Baltimore cyclist catches riots in action (Bicycling Magazine)
Keeping ‘Us’ Safe in Baltimore (Huffington Post) 
Freddie Gray: death by legal intervention (Baltimore Sun)
The slow poisoning of Freddie Gray and the hidden violence against black communities (The Conversation)
Baltimore could become key election issue (The Philadelphia Tribune)
Black and young in Baltimore: a roundtable discussion (KPCC Radio)
With little choice, O’Malley defends Baltimore tenure (Washington Post)
Mayor Martin O’Malley Versus Governor Martin O’Malley (Governing)
Riots invoked as lobbying tool (Baltimore Sun)
Media coverage and politics (Midday with Dan Rodricks) 
Practicing urban anthropology in Baltimore

Wondering why and what people in different Baltimore neighborhoods are protesting?

Confused about what caused the peaceful protests as well as violent riots?  

Unclear about the various perspectives on what led to Freddie Gray's death?

Puzzled by the reactions and responses of your classmates and colleagues - particularly those of African descent?  

To begin to explore some answers to these questions and more, we invite you to read a few articles recently shared with us by one of our campus faculty partners Dr. Joby Taylor, Director of UMBC's Shriver Peaceworker Program.  Feel free to share widely.  This is by no means a complete list of what's being written about past and recent events in Baltimore city, so feel free to email us at mosaic@umbc.edu with suggested article links that we can add to this list.  

Link to Marc Steiner Show with a couple of produced videos on Freddie Gray, and Monday's 2 hour radio show (podcast), which gave some solid and important community perspectives that go below the sensational surface of most news reports.

Link to Dan Rodrick's column yesterday on the "Other Baltimore" connected back to '68 scene.

Editorial on Why Freddie Gray Ran in Baltimore Sun published a couple days before Monday's unrest.

Link to Open Society Institute's Statement in Response to the Killing of Freddie Gray posted yesterday on their Audacious Ideas website. 

Link to a short open letter from Viva House, located in West Baltimore, sent out yesterday morning.