The independent student news site of San Diego Mesa College.

The Mesa Press

The Mesa Press

The independent student news site of San Diego Mesa College.

Breaking News
  • February 27Mysterious burning smell permeates campus; cause under investigation
  • December 17Acting Chancellor Smith named new permanent SDCCD chancellor
  • December 17Women's Volleyball claims state title

The Mesa Press

The Mesa Press

Faculty and students discuss free speech vs. hate speech at second annual teach-in

Psychology Professor Inna Kanevsky delivers her speech about free speech vs. hate speech during the teach-in. Photo Credit: Mesa Newsroom
Psychology Professor Inna Kanevsky delivers her speech about free speech vs. hate speech during the teach-in. Photo Credit: Mesa Newsroom

The second annual teach-in made its presence in the Mesa Commons Promenade as a diverse group of faculty members spoke about their experiences and knowledge about free speech vs. hate speech. This event also encouraged students to ask questions and give their own input.

“It’s been really important for us to be involved in this because we care that there is a safe and free space for you here on campus, so we’re here to support that,” said staff representative Trina Larson.

The teach-in topic of “Free Speech vs. Hate Speech” was to address the question posed by the New York Times “What does freedom of expression on a college campus mean to you?” after the Berkeley Patriot, a conservative publication at UC Berkeley, organized Free Speech Week. Milo Yiannopoulos was a confirmed speaker, while other conservative speakers including Steven Bannon and Ann Coulter were expected to join, but not confirmed, causing another possible uproar and protests on the Berkeley campus.

Organizers of the teach-in thought it was just as important that colleges and universities sponsoring campus events recognized how things like the teach-in could benefit students and faculty. Various features of free speech were discussed during the teach-in, including the right to free speech in regards to the First Amendment in the Constitution, confirmation bias, free speech in sports, unintentional cyber bullying, and how free speech is conducive to critical thinking and in order to understand why others feel a certain way, we need to find out why they feel that way and not dismiss them.

Story continues below advertisement

“If I listen to just people like me, I become subject to something called confirmation bias. It’s really easy to talk about it in others, but not always easy to see it in yourself. If you dismiss people because of how you categorize them…we don’t get to change things, we just get into squabbles.” said psychology professor Inna Kanevsky.

“All of you probably have an internal mechanism, that when you hear something that is different from the experience that you’ve had, it can feel hateful, whether it’s toward you or someone else. It might still be free speech…this is your opportunity to decide what you believe and how you believe it and how you think critically…you don’t become a Republican, or an Independent, or a Libertarian, or a Democrat, you become an educated citizen of the United States.” said President of Mesa College Pam Luster.

“Free speech means hate speech. Free speech means burning the flag. There’s coming a day soon when we might have to go through that again.” said geography professor Mark Trembley, who was at UC Berkeley during the free speech movement at Berkeley in 1964.

The first teach-in was in response to last year’s November election, which allowed people to discuss and vent about election results. Due to the first teach-in’s success, a teach-in will be held every fall for staff and students.

Leave a Comment
Donate to The Mesa Press
$270
$500
Contributed
Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of San Diego Mesa College. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

About the Contributor
Shaina Borg, Staff Writer
Hi! I've been back and forth at Mesa College for several years, but this will be my last semester and my first time writing for the Mesa Press! After receiving my transfer degree in Journalism, I plan on transferring to SDSU and majoring in Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations. I am a former employee at a large corporation here in San Diego, which gave me the opportunity to gain some valuable experience in Public Relations; so I look forward to making it my full time career! In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my fiance and our daughter, Zoey, as well as visiting the San Diego Zoo, the beach, and trying out the new brews at our local breweries.
Donate to The Mesa Press
$270
$500
Contributed
Our Goal

Comments (0)

Here at The Mesa Press, we want to foster a community for civil discussions. We welcome your insight and perspective. Comments posted must be appropriate for all ages. Any profanity or cursing is prohibited. That includes any attempts to curse with special characters (!@#) or spacing. Discuss and criticize ideas. We don’t allow comments that intend to intimidate, demean or harass other readers in any way.
All The Mesa Press Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *