Earlier this semester, another hate speech incident directed towards the Mallet Assembly, the University of Alabama’s independent honors living facility, occurred on campus.
“Mallet has – unfortunately – been the recipient of some verbal harassment for the past couple of years,” said Jeffrey Guenther, who teaches at the University and serves as the Assembly’s live-in faculty advisor. “This year has seen a marked increase in the frequency of incidents of verbal and physical harassment.”
Although hate speech is nothing new to members of the Mallet Assembly, Guenther and other members of the Assembly have witnessed an escalation of hate incidents in recent months.
“Ever since I was elected to the position of Mallet’s Chairman of the Board of Governors, there have been times that vehicles have driven past the building and their occupants have yelled obscenities and derogatory comments toward Mallet and its members,” he said. “There have also been a number of pranks and an instance of theft of property.”
Guenther said the most disturbing event of the semester took place at the beginning of September, shortly after the Assembly’s Executive Committee Meeting had adjourned.
“I went to the front of the building to see if anything was out of the ordinary because students had reported some immature, shameful behavior originating from across the street,” he said. “After opening the door and receiving anecdotes of what had happened while the Executive Committee Meeting was in session, I heard the first bout of inappropriate, defamatory and discriminatory language first-hand. One or more individuals yelled a few phrases such as, ‘Mallet’s gay,’ ‘[Expletive] Mallet,’ and ‘Mallet faggots are going to die!’”
Wishing to diffuse the situation, Guenther confronted some of the students about their behavior.
“I decided I would inform the group of students from which the verbal harassment seemed to originate about the possible repercussions of their behavior,” he said. “I walked over to the front of Paty – with two student residents of Mallet to serve as witnesses – to where that group was sitting, introduced myself as a faculty member and faculty-in-residence for the Mallet Assembly, and explained that their actions could be interpreted as creating a hostile environment for students and a hostile work environment for myself.”
Guenther also informed students that such behavior could result in either the University Police or Student Affairs becoming involved in the situation.
After talking with the residents of Paty Hall, the Mallet Assembly sign was stolen, Guenther said. A Mallet officer who tried to stop the theft was struck by a pickup truck at a low speed. Also, two other residents of Mallet Assembly were physically harassed.
As a member of the Mallet Assembly, Guenther said he is angered by the hate shown by some students toward the Assembly, but is unsure of their motivation.
“At times I get quite angry because I identify with Mallet, its residents and its officers,” Guenther said. “On the other hand, I wonder if the students engaging in harassing language and behavior fully comprehend what they are doing.”
Guenther said he believes the University has a responsibility to educate students about the dangers of hate speech.
“As an institution, I personally believe that UA has an obligation to educate students about what harassment and assault look like and the repercussions that engaging in acts of harassment and assault can have in the professional world,” he said.
As a recipient of hate speech, Guenther advises those who would use derogatory terms against a minority of any sort to think twice before doing so.
“Before using any word as a pejorative or spouting any derogatory term for a racial, religious or sexual minority or person or group with any other legally protected status, realize that a person representing any one of those groups could be in your presence,” Guenther said. “Or, you could simply remember this age old adage: Love thy neighbor as thyself.”
University faculty and leaders of campus organizations expressed disgust for hate speech targeting the Mallet Assembly.
“I am appalled at this behavior and hope that we can locate the students who are engaging in creating an unsafe environment for our students, faculty, and staff,” said Joshua Burford, president of the Capstone Alliance, the University’s professional organization for LGBTQ faculty and staff.
Many challenges remain for the University in solving the problem of hate speech against all minority groups, said Meredith Bagley, who teaches at the University and is part of the Capstone Alliance, Safe Zone and Spectrum.
“The University clearly has stern challenges around race-based hate speech on this campus,” Bagley said. “However we know that hate does not discriminate and thus our responses and awareness need to include the wide range of unfortunate and ugly actions taken by bigoted people.”
