COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Frustrated students at the University of Maryland sounded off to school officials after a an e-mail which included racist and sexist comments was found to be protected free speech.
Student after student lined up behind microphones at a town-hall meeting at the Stamp Student Union on Thursday to speak to school officials sitting on stage.
“As a personal survivor of sexual violence I find this really offensive,” said Pegah Maleki, an English major at the university. She says the e-mail promoted rape and should be a violation of university policy.
The University of Maryland and Prince George’s County Police investigated after the email came to light three weeks ago. It was written in 2014 and the Kappa Sigma fraternity member behind it has voluntarily withdrawn from the school. The student apologized in a statement released by the school.
UMD President Wallace Loh called the e-mail despicable, but said there is no disciplinary action the school can take against the student. Loh says the e-mail would have had to show signs of imminent risk to others, which he says it did not. “That is the price we pay for freedom of speech,” he said.
Some students called for student conduct codes which would prevent this type of speech. Others wanted the university to stop supporting the fraternity.
Loh stands behind the investigation into the e-mail, and said speech must be evaluated in the context in which is it used, which includes time, place and manner. “Those same words in a different context may have led to a different result,” he said.
The president said he believes the author of the letter had real remorse and has asked the students to consider forgiving him.
Loh called the e-mail controversy a teaching moment which he hopes will discourage similar situations in the future. “If you change people’s behavior, over time they will change their hearts and minds,” he said.
