Free Speech vs. Hate Speech

The reaction was swift when an anonymous student wrote “Black people suck” on a library whiteboard at American University in February. University leaders responded with an email to the campus denouncing the incident and announcing that the Office of the Dean of Students would investigate and determine whether the incident constituted a violation of the university code of conduct. An official of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression wrote a letter to university president Sylvia M. Burwell the very next day voicing concerns about the investigation.