Anonymous hate speech is a widespread, national issue on American college campuses. For years, students have been disseminating hate all over campus. More recently, students have logged on to websites and social media in order to express their sentiments. Anonymous social media websites have become more readily available to college students, increasing the number of incidents of anonymous hate speech.
For the most part, efforts from university's around the country to end anonymous hate speech have proven futile. Research done on hate speech on college campuses shows that it is difficult to regulate the dissemination of hateful words. One of the main issues involving regulation of speech on college campuses includes the simple fact that "the special nature of the academic setting requires a 'heightened protection of expression.'" (Labaree) Another researcher, Katherine Hatfield, explains that there is a fine line between hate speech and tolerated speech. Although some words may be hurtful, there is technically no legal action that can be taken against them. (Hatfield) Magna's Campus legal monthly published an article highlighting the efforts made by universities to combat hate speech. The article criticizes many of the universities' solutions to the problem, and suggests taking legal action rather than censoring students. (Magna Campus Legal Monthly) Yet there lies a gap in their research, as they do not suggest any ways to combat hate speech in a way that best benefits the students. Universities should not be searching for legal help when making an effort to end hate speech, but rather should deal with the issue internally.
Other authors have approached the problem differently. Alexander Tsesis, in his book Destructive Messages, looks at the issue on a wider scale. He explains that "when hate speech is systematically developed, it sometimes becomes socially acceptable, first to discriminate and, later, to oppress identifiable groups of people." (Tsesis) Laurence Marcus offers a more gloomy point of view, expressing the hard fact that hate speech will never end on college campuses. The goal should be to minimize it, but there is never an easy and quick solution.
There lies a gap in the research of anonymous hate speech on college campuses. Researchers have not yet toyed with the social nature of college students. My goal is to publicly make anonymous hate speech a taboo.
For the most part, efforts from university's around the country to end anonymous hate speech have proven futile. Research done on hate speech on college campuses shows that it is difficult to regulate the dissemination of hateful words. One of the main issues involving regulation of speech on college campuses includes the simple fact that "the special nature of the academic setting requires a 'heightened protection of expression.'" (Labaree) Another researcher, Katherine Hatfield, explains that there is a fine line between hate speech and tolerated speech. Although some words may be hurtful, there is technically no legal action that can be taken against them. (Hatfield) Magna's Campus legal monthly published an article highlighting the efforts made by universities to combat hate speech. The article criticizes many of the universities' solutions to the problem, and suggests taking legal action rather than censoring students. (Magna Campus Legal Monthly) Yet there lies a gap in their research, as they do not suggest any ways to combat hate speech in a way that best benefits the students. Universities should not be searching for legal help when making an effort to end hate speech, but rather should deal with the issue internally.
Other authors have approached the problem differently. Alexander Tsesis, in his book Destructive Messages, looks at the issue on a wider scale. He explains that "when hate speech is systematically developed, it sometimes becomes socially acceptable, first to discriminate and, later, to oppress identifiable groups of people." (Tsesis) Laurence Marcus offers a more gloomy point of view, expressing the hard fact that hate speech will never end on college campuses. The goal should be to minimize it, but there is never an easy and quick solution.
There lies a gap in the research of anonymous hate speech on college campuses. Researchers have not yet toyed with the social nature of college students. My goal is to publicly make anonymous hate speech a taboo.