David Michael Miller
Last week we watched as Charlottesville, Virginia was overrun by white supremacists chanting “Jews will not replace us.” We saw Heather Heyer brutally murdered in what a large majority of Americans believe was an act of domestic terrorism.
In the wake of Charlottesville, it is time to reexamine Wisconsin Assembly Bill 299, legislation meant to protect conservative voices on UW campuses. The bill was written by the Goldwater Institute, an out-of-state conservative think tank. It would allow students to be suspended and eventually expelled for protesting speech they disagree with. The bill also stifles the ability of any campus to prevent or even speak out against invited speakers on campus.
Part of the justification for the bill was a minor incident at UW-Madison in November 2016. Former Breitbart editor Ben Shapiro had his speech interrupted by protesters for seven minutes. Considering I’ve been to events where it took longer just to get the PowerPoint presentation up and running, it doesn’t seem like a big enough deal to justify clamping down on the entire UW System.
In June, the Wisconsin Assembly approved the bill 61-36 on a nearly party line vote. Rep. Bob Gannon (R-West Bend) was the lone Republican to vote against the bill, worried that its draconian punishment process could be used to stifle conservative speech.
The Senate chose not to take up the bill immediately, preferring to focus its efforts on the state budget. After the events of this long summer, senators should let the bill die.
In the last few weeks, Republicans across the country have come to understand that First Amendment rights don’t guarantee a platform for speakers who put students and the greater community at risk. The University of Florida and Texas A&M both denied speaking requests from white supremacist Richard Spencer. If freaking Texas says it’s okay to turn away violent hate speech, we can too.
“Under this legislation, the university would be unable to do what so many of our peer institutions are doing — denying people like Richard Spencer a space to speak at their schools,” says Donald Moynihan, director of the La Follette School of Public Affairs at UW-Madison.
Remember, this legislation would affect the entire UW System, not just Madison. If passed, it opens a door for campus groups to book hate speech all around the state — Milwaukee, Green Bay, Eau Claire. People who would have no chance at getting into a credible private venue would have full, unfettered access to campus spaces. As more schools around the country say “no,” ours would become a magnet because they would be unable to say anything other than yes.
Many chancellors issued statements decrying the hate in Charlottesville. But under this bill they would be silenced.
“A campus chancellor might not even be able to issue a statement saying, ‘These white supremacists don’t represent our campus leadership.’ The legislation says that institutions must remain neutral on public policy controversies,” says Moynihan.
A campus that can’t respond to tense situations puts students, staff and law enforcement in danger.
Under this bill, white supremacists could show up on college campuses and face no consequences. In fact, it would be the counter-protesters that would be at risk.
“A student could face punishment for doing nothing more than carrying a sign that says ‘Fuck Nazis,’ because the bill specifically bans protests viewed as profane,” says Moynihan.
A bill that protects hate speech, but would suspend or expel students for using swear words on signs, is a bad bill.
It is largely a myth that conservative voices have no place on any UW System campus, including at UW-Madison. UW-Madison economics professor Noah Williams regularly turns out work that bolsters and supports Gov. Scott Walker’s talking points.
But I agree that we could create a campus that supports greater — to borrow a made-up phrase — sifting and winnowing. Conservative thinkers would challenge my views and I would challenge theirs. But conservative speech does not equal hate speech. Protecting speech, including controversial speech, does not mean punishing someone else’s speech or putting people into danger.
I was heartened to see strong statements denouncing the hate and violence in Charlottesville from state senators on both sides of the aisle. Here is an opportunity to make those statements more than words. Let this bill die.
Alan Talaga co-writes the Off the Square cartoon with Jon Lyons and blogs at Madland.
