Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Volume: 101 Issue: 23
Students chalk politics MEG DENNY
NEWS | Page 3
LIFE | Page 6-7
Q&A on student response to Trump drawing
Louisiana considers marijuana legalization
Recent political chalk drawings at La. colleges bring up free speech v. safe environment
“Everyone
should have the option to learn the rules of civil engagement, which is not silencing, which is not arguing to the point of individuals, but to the point of ideas.” - Lori LeBlanc
News Editor
O
n April 2, student Mayshonna Winslow posted a photo on the NSU Student Concerns Facebook Page asking, “What is going to be done about this?” The photo contained three men posing next to a chalk drawing of Donald Trump with the words “Make NSU Great Again” and “Can’t stump the Trump” surrounding the drawing. The post was originally on Instagram, and Winslow snapped a screenshot of the display. Winslow’s post received over 62 comments, some of which had to be deleted by the page admins for profanity and refusal to acknowledge the page’s guidelines. Comments from students raised issues about freedom of speech on campus, and many debated where to draw the line between freedom of speech and the creation of a hostile environment. The student who first posted the photo was contacted and unavailable for comment.
What will happen to the NSU Student Concerns Facebook Page (NSUSC)? According to John Pearce, SGA president for the Fall 2016-Spring 2017 term, Dr. Henderson has a strong desire to keep the page intact. SGA is currently forming a committee to fix the guidelines for the page. Tre Nelson, Pearce’s vice president, is a member of that committee and looks forward to the continuation of student discussion. “I speak for SGA and Northwestern State University when I say that we want to make sure that we are not making students feel as though their creativity is stifled,” Nelson said. Deputy Title IX Coordinator Lori LeBlanc noted that the concerns page suffers from hostile comments. “It’s not necessarily the initial post that causes the most pain; it’s the hatefulness that comes out in the comments,” LeBlanc said. Her solution involves education and encouragement. “Everyone should have the option to learn the rules of civil engagement, which is not silencing, which is not arguing to the point of individuals,
•
Students may only express lawful views in these areas: the Student Union Plaza, Prather Coliseum’s east parking lot and the green space between CAPA and Varnado Hall. • The expression must be approved by the dean of students, or their designee. • The expressions must not be scheduled during any major University events. • The expression is allowed to last for two hours, and only occur once every seven days. Although the requirements do not allow students to express on the Kyser brickway, both the Trump drawing and the rally in the fall took place there. On NSUSC, Dr. Henderson said that disciplinary action could not be taken, but that the drawing could be cleaned up. “A public entity, especially one that has previously encouraged sidewalk chalk messaging, cannot declare such messaging defacement of property based arbitrarily on the content of the message,” the university president said. The student code of conduct remains unclear about purely visual expressions of views, such as drawings, banners, etc. However, flyers posted in buildings typically require approval from the department on the specific floor or building.
This is happenning across our state Graphic by Hannah Fulton
What does the Student Code of Conduct say about freedom of speech? Article III, section 4.2 of the code states, “Students shall be free to support any causes by lawful means.” By this standard, the Trump drawing is free to exist. However, the code follows up in section 4.3 by saying that the university retains the right to regulate the time, manner and place of the “expression of views.” The code contains no information about requiring a permit, yet assumes that the university will be notified before free speech is expressed on campus. A permit form does exist online
under “Policy on Free Speech and Demonstrations” on the NSU student links page. LeBlanc said that the code will soon state that the form must be filled out 24 to 48 hours ahead of the expression. Multiple students on NSUSC compared the Trump drawing to the rally that happened on campus last fall. Two photos surfaced on the concerns page, one of students in blackface and one of students dressed as Caitlin Jenner pre and post transition. In response, students rallied for an accepting environment on campus. The organizers of the rally were unaware of the permit requirements and did not submit a form, but were still allowed to demonstrate. However, if they did fill out a form, they would have noticed the following rules:
At Southeastern University, according to student Tyler Witt, “Trump 2k16 Build the Wall” was written on a campus building on April 4, two days after the photo of the Trump drawing at NSU was posted. The University of Louisiana at Lafayette saw pro-Trump slogans created with chalk all around their campus on April 4, according to Vermillion staff member Kailey Broussard. Students also responded with “pro-Bernie notes and penises near the drawings,” Broussard said. Centenary student William Morrison said that similar events to UL’s recently occurred on campus. Tech Talk staff member Rachek Maxell said that Louisiana Tech University recently had chalk drawings of Trump and slogans in support of his campaign on campus.