Following the Oswego campus incident regarding the president’s email calling out hate speech, students should participate in communal conversations about what signs and posters accurately represent freedom of speech. 

On Feb. 19, SUNY Oswego President Peter O. Nwosu released an email addressing signs in the Marano Campus Center and Tyler Hall speaking against the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The email included a definition of hate speech, leading many to believe that he equated the two things.

 Students were outraged by his description of the writing, expressing that the signs were not harmful to students and advocated for the lives of individuals rather than political positions. 

The president later released a statement where he retracted his previous statement to accentuate his true intentions of ensuring the safety and comfortability of all SUNY Oswego’s students.

To avoid such situations from recurring or unfolding further, students should take initiative of creating groups that handle informing the public of injustices through the creation of posters and signs. It is well within students’ rights to actively use their speech freely as it pertains to educating the public. Therefore, students should be able to use their voices in an unbiased manner to talk about what kinds of exposure to topics is better fitting and how to execute this. 

Staff should also be actively participating in these causes, not only to give insight but to connect with students on a personal level.

It is well known that students are part of individual groups and clubs on campus to fight for separate causes, but there should be a fully student-run chat room for students to share their personal experiences and come to an agreement about what posters and signs best achieve their end goal. 

This way, students can collectively contribute to a platform that fights for our human rights and that  there are no misconceptions about the intentions of the writings. 

However, until this system is put into practice, signs and posters should not be placed in prohibited areas on campus adhering to vandalization. If a student is looking to share a poster, it might be better to place the paper on a bulletin board without openly writing it on a wall or unauthorized place. 

Before placing a poster or sign on campus, be sure to read the university policies because content that is viewed as demoralizing and discriminatory will be taken down immediately. 

Lastly, be sure to hang posters and signs that promote positive messages, rather than attacking a particular group of students or highlighting any kind of assault or violence. 

In the future, implementing a process may appear to be troublesome, but, if governed correctly, students will be able to make a difference in how we approach political and social issues. Until then, stay safe and make choices that educate rather than separate students.

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