Chancellor Blank,
I appreciated your message sent via various methods to members of the UW-Madison campus community on January 26, 2017 concerning the UW-Madison student desiring to form an "alt-right" organization on campus. From what I understood, the main points of your message are that the University does not tolerate discrimination, harassment, threats, hate crimes, etc. and that the actions of this individual do not represent the University community as a whole. However, I felt that your letter could have been crafted differently in order to communicate those points without resorting to the belittling of that student's viewpoint.
First of all, I felt that the inclusion of the student's 2005 arson convictions were irrelevant to the conversation. As stated in your message, some students may have made mistakes in the past, but having paid their debt to society, they should not be discriminated against. This information may have been appropriate to include if it was related to the organization the student is attempting to form. However, the student's desired organization claims to be affiliated with the American Freedom Party, which was not founded until 2010. As this student is not one of the founding members, the inclusion of this information only serves to unnecessarily vilify the student in question.
Secondly, the American Freedom Party, while holding relatively radical viewpoints, is an association of citizens of the United States of America, who have the right to express their viewpoints, no matter how unpopular they are. I do not necessarily agree with their viewpoints, and suspect that most UW-Madison students don't agree either, but they are still viewpoints. As a member of a religious faith whose history is riddled with aggression and discrimination from the government because of viewpoints we hold, I feel that you went too far in stating that you were "heartened to see many students state their strong disagreement with the views of this group." As the Chancellor, you are a government official and have the responsibility to keep the Office of the Chancellor in a viewpoint-neutral position whenever possible.
Third, you say, presumably in reference to the student expressing his opinion and disseminating literature on campus supporting his opinion, that "the mere presence of this activity is concerning." As you state in the following sentence, "handing out political information and expression [sic] objectionable, even hateful, viewpoints is not illegal nor a violation of campus policy." I would add that the free expression of viewpoints, without fear of government reprisal, is protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and is the basis of a healthy democracy. I would conclude that this activity should not be concerning, but encouraging. It is a sign that our campus is a place that allows for the free exchange of ideas, even those that are unpopular.
Let me be clear in stating that I do not agree with the viewpoints expressed by this student on our campus. I do not agree with white supremacist groups, or with violent action against others, especially when motivated by racist, sexist, or otherwise inappropriate ideologies. However, I believe that, lacking any evidence of inciting people to violent action, this student has done nothing wrong. And having done nothing wrong, it is unfair for him to be publicly disparaged in a message from the Office of the Chancellor. I do feel that it would be appropriate to remind the student body that discrimination, hate crimes, threats, violence, etc. are unacceptable and illegal, and do make it clear that the actions of this student do not represent the viewpoints, policies, and mission of the University. I would hope that in the future this information can be communicated to the student body without resorting to the denigration of a member of our campus community.
Respectfully,
Glen Thurston
Graduate Student
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