Behind The Headlines: Susan Menning

With the recent controversy regarding allegations of hateful speech at UC Irvine, the Pilot asked campus spokeswoman Susan Menning about the university's free-speech policy.

Question: What are the specific guidelines regarding free speech at UCI?

Answer: UC Irvine protects virtually all speech, in accordance with the United States and California constitutions. No matter how abhorrent we may find hate speech, the courts have upheld its protection under both constitutions and have consistently struck down hate speech regulations, including every university or college campus hate speech code that has been litigated to the point of a published opinion. UC Irvine's guidelines, which comply with both constitutions, are at www.vcsa.uci.edu/freespeech.

Q: Does the university draw a line between making political statements — such as slogans criticizing Israel — and presenting material that could be construed as hateful or threatening?

A: UC Irvine draws a distinct line between hate speech and threats; however, as stated above, we are obligated by the 1st Amendment and the state Constitution to protect hate speech, as distasteful and objectionable as we may find it.

UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake has consistently denounced hate speech — most recently when introducing former President Carter, who spoke on campus this month.

"We have all witnessed disrespectful, dishonest, intolerant behavior; examples include hate speech in the form of anti-Semitism, intolerance in the form of condemnation of the Islamic faith, or the demonization of entire ethnic groups," Drake said. "As I stated last year: Officially and personally, I abhor racism, and I reject hate speech. I know that you all join me in this. We respect, appreciate and value all members of our campus community. We may not always agree, but we are privileged to live in a society where we can explore, learn and grow from our differences, from our difficult dialogues."

Threats are a different matter. When we learn of a specific threat on campus, we mobilize our resources (and those of other law enforcement agencies, if appropriate) to deal with it immediately and completely. The safety of all members of our campus community is our top priority. We consistently encourage anyone who has been threatened to contact the UCI Police Department and anyone who believes they have been discriminated against to contact our Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity.