Miami University Kicks Off Inclusion Series

By Kexin Yue

Miami University journalism student

Free speech on college campuses has been a hot topic of late, especially after the riot that broke out at University of California-Berkeley when Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos was invited to speak.

The intersection of free speech and free expression with personal safety and comfort was the topic of a recent panel discussion at Miami University.

"Free Speech and the Path to a More Perfect Union" was the first of what is planned to be a series of four interactive discussions designed to tackle current issues and their impact on college campuses. It was held on Wednesday, Feb. 1 in Miami University’s Shriver Center.

Phyllis Callahan, the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at Miami, says the goal of the Inclusion Series is to provide the opportunity for faculty and staff to propose and facilitate respectful discussions of complex issues.

"We had several questions and comments from faculty ad students about free speech and decided it would be the best to have an open, informed session on this topic," Callahan says. "So everyone would have a good understanding of the idea and its application."

Considering Challenging Speech

This first session discussed challenging speech and the idea that words can hurt. Panel facilitators were Dean of Students Michael Curme and Political Science Department Chair Patrick Haney. They posed questions to five expert panelists from Miami, and after that they also shared questions from the audience shared via Twitter.

Curme started the conversation by asking, "How do we have these conversations in a way where we respect free speech to addresses theses questions from the perspective where we respect everyone."

Panelist Bruce Petrie, an instructor in political science and a partner at the law firm Graydon in Cincinnati, responded by discussing the balance between security and liberty and suggesting that one way to curb what we may consider "bad" speech is simply more speech.

"Be as brave as we can with our speech is the best cure," Petrie told the audience. "Let the speaker speak, trust fellow Americans to be smart enough to know who is making sense."

Alissa Johnson is a a senior history and political science major who has taken a class with Petrie. She says she likes the way he thinks about the history of free speech. Johnson also says she thinks there should be more discussions like this in the future.

"I think our campus is really segregated in some part," Johnson says. "Especially seeing the differences between Greek life and student orgs."

She thinks there need to be more spaces where people of different mindsets and attitudes interact.

"There should be more collaboration between each group. I think Miami can grow on that later in the future."

Speech and Power

Rachel Blum is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and was one of the panelists. Blum says she thinks speech is a way for people to be engaged with power, which is important in a deliberative democracy.

Blum says she thinks the discussion went well and provided the audience with some interesting perspectives on consequences of speech.

"I would hope people have a little bit better understanding of what free speech means legally," Blum says.

During her talk, Blum also reminded the audience that the practice of free speech requires individuals to not only speak out, but to also listen. She also encouraged people to think about the words that they use and whether they are listening because that really matters.

The three remaining Inclusion Series sessions will take place on Mar. 14, Apr. 11, and May 4. The deans and the Provost are currently reviewing proposals and the discussion topics will be announced in the next 3 weeks.

Michael Curme and Patrick Haney prepare to start the discussion. -- Photo by Kexin Yue