Hate speech prompts protest at N.C. State's tunnel (Racist slurs about Obama & gays and lesbians)

[ncdemocrat1976]

Source: News & Observer/WRAL

Here is the first link from the News & Observer:


"The offending comments, which were accompanied by a drawing of President Obama, were first reported to campus authorities by a student at 10 p.m. Sunday, Nichols said. Campus workers were immediately dispatched to paint over the slurs, Nichols said.

The chancellor issued a statement on Tuesday condemning the hate speech, which he described as "racially charged obscenities and derogatory comments directed to the GLBT community."


Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/11/04/780527/students-protest-at-nc-states.html#ixzz14JwPAv2E


Here is the second link from WRAL:



"Students have vowed to protest or block North Carolina State University's Free Expression Tunnel until the university's chancellor gives guarantees that no hate speech will be allowed there.

About 40 students painted the tunnel black overnight to protest racist and homophobic graffiti involving President Barack Obama painted there earlier this week. Slurs and the name "Obama" were painted over the picture of a black man."

Read more:


http://www.wral.com/news/education/story/8565346/

No link yet.

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This has been going on at the tunnel for years. NC State rarely does anything about the situation.

[madmax]

1. My dear new adopted state

Please, it's up to you - the next generation attending colleges and universities to open your minds and your hearts. STOP the cycle of stupidy and hate.

I'd never heard about this speech tunnel at NCS but, then again I don't know much about a lot of things. NJ is no better - Rutgers.

[ncdemocrat1976]

2. It's NC State, not USC.

[madmax]

8. Sorry - too late to edit. Thank you.

Have only lived here 3 years and just recently have memorized my zip code ;)

[kick-ass-bob]

3. New chancellor. I hadn't heard of staff

painting over the tunnel for this reason before either. I've been through that tunnel many hundreds of times.

Good for the students to protest the hate speech.

[HillWilliam]

4. K&R

and welcome to DU.

:hi: to madmax (Hey neighbor!!)

NC by-and-large is pretty cool but occasionally we have a couple of idiots who really want to act out. Sad that we all get painted with the brush a few deserve.

Good on the students who went to protest!!

[ncdemocrat1976]

6. Hey, hey, hey...

NC State has a lot of simple minded folks than any other campuses in this area.

I live in Bob Etheridge's district. There are lots of conservative dems in this area...

Thanks for the welcome.

[marions ghost]

5. You cannot have a free expression tunnel without

expecting this occasionally (especially in a highly charged election season with loud dog whistling to all the worst in people).

NC State handles it very intelligently, simply painting over it. Which in itself is a statement.

I think this incident teaches an important lesson to the students--that they are not "safe" or immune from hate speech even in a university. It helps prevent the complacency that is often a feature of campuses. It is better to SEE this hate expressed in this way occasionally than pretend it does not exist. If someone was doing this everyday you'd have to take action, but it's only a rare cowardly sniper attack.

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

7. As a NC State alumna,

Firstly, I wholeheartedly disagree with the previous poster who says that NC State has more 'simple minded' students (read: stupid, hick).

NC State is one of the premiere engineering schools in the nation. I work with many of these engineers from NC State and none of them is 'simple minded' or conservative.

Secondly, this is a free speech tunnel. As such, it promotes freedom of speech and expression. I don't remember the Constitution limiting free speech to something you and I agree with. Defending freedom of speech means also defending the right of people to express things I don't like or approve of.

Unless someone shouts 'Fire!' in a crowded theater or threatens someone, even the speech that is abhorrent should be expressed. Once you or anyone else decide what is acceptable free speech and what isn't, it won't be long before someone says YOUR speech is unacceptable.

I am proud of the free speech tunnel at State. I may or may not have written a few things about NC State's basketball team (since my team is Duke) :) between 1990 and 1995 :)

Bigots are everywhere - including at the hallowed old well in Chapel Hill or Duke Chapel or Wake Forest or Harvard or Yale etc.

[ncdemocrat1976]

9. NC State also has

a lot of farmers, rural North Carolinians that attend their school. I've known a few people that went there specifically for their farm courses. I disagree with you about UNC. Chapel Hill is way more liberal than most of the student body at NCSU. The student body at NCSU overwhelmingly supported Richard Burr last week, that would never happen in Chapel Hill. Also, this "free expression tunnel" has gone through this racist wringer a few times in the past. Before Obama was elected there were slurs spray painted & after he was elected there were slurs. This type of thing hasn't gone on in Durham or Chapel Hill.

I'm sure that these engineers are more open minded than the bigots that posted this stuff in the tunnel. State needs to confront this problem before something happens. I think they should post cameras in this area to catch and prosecute these people.

[No Elephants]

12. Prosecute? Does North Carolina have a hate speech law?

[provis99]

10. NC State is the Texas A&M of North Carolina.

full of right-wing southern meatheads.

[No Elephants]

11. "Welcome to North Carolina. You are now in the heart of Klan country."

Highway billboard just over North Carolina's state line (northern border), circa 1967.

[Doctor_J]

13. As Malloy says from time to time

we're eventually going to have to fight these people, or just give in.