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The Dartmouth
July 9, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Hate Speech Not Adjudicable But Is Subject To Disapproval

To the Editor:

I am writing in response to questions that my office has received regarding a racial slur written on the message board and the student residence door of two College undergraduates of Asian descent.

As has been reported in The Dartmouth, the student who reportedly wrote this hateful message has been identified. The case is being referred for disciplinary action for any violation of our adjudicable standards of conduct.

I am writing to clarify a couple of issues which this incident has raised. First, as I have stated in two fall term letters to the community, such behavior is inconsistent with the fundamental principle of community that students are expected to be "appreciative of the diversity of the community as providing an opportunity for learning and moral growth." Speech which demeans or ridicules others because of their race or ethnicity has no place in this community. Even though deeply offensive speech, per se, is not adjudicable, it is, nevertheless, subject to other expression of community disapproval.

Dartmouth does not have a so-called "hate speech" code. The right to express one's self in this community is not abridged through disciplinary codes. Yet, it is equally clear that free speech exists within the context of the community standards and of taking responsibility for one's actions. And under law and Dartmouth standards, free speech is not absolute: thus, for instance, speech which threatens physical personal safety or which demonstrates a pattern of harassing behavior would not enjoy the same protections as other forms of speech.

The best response to offensive hurtful speech is almost always more speech. The practitioners of hate speech must come to understand through the actions of the community that such speech has no place in a community that is respectful of the rights and interests of others. Some among us, no doubt, will feel frustrated that instances of hate speech go "unpunished," but the protection to express oneself freely is that which safeguards all of us against capricious and arbitrary impositions of will or thought.

I am pleased that the efforts of Safety and Security and the Hanover Police have so quickly identified the individual responsible for writing this message. (The Hanover Police will make a decision about whether or not legal charges will be brought against him.) Deans in my office have met with all students involved as well as spoken to the parents of the two students who received the message.

I have chosen not to write directly to the community until the identity of the undergraduate involved was known to the dean's office. I have also decided that it would be most appropriate to request that he write an open letter to the community explaining his actions as well as reflecting on the ways in which he has harmed not simply two individuals but an entire community.

In the meantime, I would call upon other members of our community to discuss and reflect on this incident in the context of community values and appreciation for the wonderful diversity represented in our student body.