Hate Speech has no place on college campuses or anywhere else

“Addressing hate speech does not mean limiting or prohibiting freedom of speech. It means keeping hate speech from escalating into something more dangerous, particularly incitement to discrimination, hostility, and violence, which is prohibited under international law.” -- United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres

Calling for the genocide of Jews, or any people, is hate speech that is incompatible with American values and the U.S. Constitution.

As Americans, we cherish our constitutional right to free expression as passionately as we abhor bigotry, discrimination, and injustice. In the words of Voltaire biographer Evelyn Beatrice Hall, often misattributed to Voltaire himself, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

But we also live by another principle, expressed in an adage whose origins have been lost to time: Your right to swing your fist ends where my nose begins.

Nowhere is this paradox more vividly illustrated than on the campuses of our nation’s colleges and universities, where conflicting ideologies are passionately debated. The lectures of controversial public figures are protested and boycotted. Outspoken professors ignite controversy and invite censure. Students are challenged by seemingly radical new perspectives they may be encountering for the first time.