EDITORIAL BOARD: Campus free speech must be responsible

On what was otherwise a normal Wednesday afternoon, students noticed something out of the ordinary sold by a campus vendor on Trousdale Parkway. According to reports from the Daily Trojan, the booth sold T-shirts and albums with the swastika symbol.

The booth set off debates between nearby students. Many found the presence of the products on campus to be a disturbing representation of the most grotesque genocide in human history. Others defended the vendor, citing his actions to be well within his freedom of speech rights.

We won’t discount the purported historical origins of the symbol, which the vendor said he wanted to reclaim. But we will address the meaning of free speech on our campus and how to exercise that right responsibly.

As members of the press corps, our first instinct as student journalists is to defend the first amendment, as it is a pillar of the field in which we tirelessly work. Any form of punishment as a result of someone speaking their mind is, quite frankly, censorship.

Incidents such as the appearance of the swastika on our campus, however, are more than just a “difference of opinion.” What was more concerning was that the vendor reportedly brushed off concerns, telling a student she should grow “tough skin.” This symbol, however, is not something people can dust off and simply walk away from.

The swastika has been marred by a history of hatred. It represents the death of more than 6 million innocent people during the Holocaust and was recognized by the Anti-Defamation League as a hate symbol in 2010.

On a college campus, students’ understanding of the swastika has been shaped by years of learning about the Holocaust. We are taught from our pre-college education that the swastika is an emblem of evil.

And it hits close to home — the majority of those witnessing the event were deeply disturbed by the presence of the swastika on campus. For some students, the symbol represents not only a heinous crime on humanity but also the death of family members. The vendor’s actions were grossly offensive.

Members and contributors to the USC community have a right to free speech, but provocative statements should not be made for the sake of being provocative. They should be the products of thoughtful discussion. Perhaps there is some merit in a conversation about whether the swastika can ever be reclaimed, but to begin this discussion by selling swastika T-shirts only serves to offend and shock students rather than promote a productive dialogue.

Offensive iconography is not conducive to a productive campus environment and only breeds more hatred. Instead, it validates other forms of hatred and makes respect expendable.

Over the past few months, the energy of the Trump administration has employed and empowered anti-Semitic individuals and incited a wave of Holocaust denial and Nazi sympathizers. So when a vendor on campus sells swastika T-shirts, even if we are to assume that he did so to reclaim the symbol, the message that bystanders receive is not of redemption but of anti-Semitism. And the reaction is justifiable shock.

We as a community are at a time in our national consciousness in which we are increasingly susceptible to incendiary provocateurs whose actions carry grave consequences. Firebrands like Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller thrive off of the attention from intentionally inflammatory anti-Semitic statements. It is this context which makes a vendor’s decision to sell swastika T-shirts under the guise of a thoughtful academic reclamation even more irresponsible. Anti-Semitism is alive and well, and we must protect our campus from it.

Here at USC, the community spirit of the Trojan Family is boundless. At football games, we hug strangers seated next to us when our team scores a touchdown. There’s a sense of shared pride when fellow Trojans collect accolades under the University’s name. This will all collapse if we fail to speak and act in ways that stand up for our fellow Trojans. And that means decrying anti-Semitism and ensuring responsible free speech on campus.

Daily Trojan Spring 2017 Editorial Board