As the first university in the state, the University of Arizona has undergone intense changes since 1892. The University has seen integration, an influx of minority students, and coalitions that have formed to bolster the identity of these groups. Alongside growing minority populations on the University of Arizona Campus, reactionaries promoting racism and ostracization also increased. These reactionaries are able to express pejorative, demeaning, and dangerous language under the protection of “Freedom of Speech”- the University, while not endorsing the actual content, allows the hate speech to occur under 1st Amendment protections. While hate speech is shielded by the administration, minority students are left vulnerable. Since hate speech is protected by the code of conduct, minority students and victims of hate speech have no mechanism for redress or justice. This is critical to address because the consequences of hate speech can have lasting effects, including PTSD, depression, isolation, and educational disengagement. Most importantly, hate speech creates unequal educational opportunities. 

As students, we do not even have the information to know just how often these hate speech attacks occur. If we want change, if we want inclusivity, if we want a safe educational space, then we need to know what we are working with. This is why we must demand that the University of Arizona take steps to report, track, and publish the frequency to which hate speech attacks take place. 

A signature on this petition is a signature to demand the University of Arizona to begin tracking hate speech attacks. Demand that your University is held accountable. Demand that it hold members of its campus that use hate speech accountable. Demand change.