As a student at Cleveland State University, I can say I have never been more disappointed or more dumbfounded than I currently am. Never did I ever think I would ever be in the position to write such an article about my school. Late last week, an extremely offensive flier was found hanging in the main classroom building on campus, and it caused quite an uproar, rightfully so.
**Trigger warning: This is sensitive material which involves suicide and offensive slurs against students who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community.**
When the president of Cleveland State University, Dr. Ronald Berkman, first responded on Monday morning, he defended the fliers by saying that he although there is respect for every student at CSU, he still needs to stand by the first amendment and allow freedom of speech:
“Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff:
At Cleveland State University, our foremost priority is maintaining a welcoming environment that provides opportunities for learning, expression, and discourse.
CSU remains fully committed to a campus community that respects all individuals, regardless of age, race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, and other historical bases for discrimination.
CSU also is committed to upholding the First Amendment, even with regard to controversial issues where opinion is divided. We will continue to protect free speech to ensure all voices may be heard and to promote a civil discourse where educational growth is the desired result.
Be assured that the spirit of inclusiveness will always be central to the very identity of our university.”
Sincerely,
Ronald Berkman
A statement from the president of the university, who should be concerned with the well-being of every student, defended the posters. These are posters that could potentially be a suicide note for people that are part of the LBGTQ+ community. For President Berkman’s first response to be a defense against the flyer, saying he has to respect the First Amendment is absolutely sickening. There is a difference between freedom of speech and hate statements, which the flyer above clearly is.
President Berkman received a lot of lash for the above statement, which persuaded him to release another statement on Tuesday morning:
“Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff:
I wanted to acknowledge that yesterday I failed to express my personal outrage over a recent incident involving an anti-LGBT poster that was recently posted on campus.
While I find the message of this poster reprehensible, the current legal framework regarded free speech makes it difficult to prevent these messages from being disseminated.
However, let me make it clear that I am committed to promoting a safe and inclusive campus for all members of our community.
I recognize this incident has created significant concern around the campus and invite you to join me and members of my staff tomorrow, October 18th at 2 p.m. in the Main Classroom Auditorium to discuss your concerns.
If you are unable to attend, please send me your thoughts at hi.president.berkman@csuohio.edu and I will respond back to you.”
Watching the live press conference, there is no other word besides disgusted to see the way that the president of my university handled the situation. At times, he mentioned that a different community was going to be attacked every day because that’s just the way our world is currently.
Hearing him say these words, it’s almost as if he is condoning such behavior and encouraging it to happen more. Regardless of whether this is happening on other college campuses all over the world should not matter. What should matter is what is happening on our campus and how he is going to handle it.
It’s been said that the only reason that the fliers were taken down was that they were never approved to be hung up.
They weren’t taken out due to offensive material, suicide triggers/warning, or hate against the LGBTQ+ community on campus.
I, as a straight female who is comfortable with my body and sexuality, still feel affected by this because of my social group and how many people in my life are a part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Everyone is affected by this, whether you yourself are part of the LGBTQ+ community, or someone you know is.
Not only this, but this is plain ignorance and it is infuriating that such behavior is being supported. I am all for being able to speak your mind and freedom of speech, but I am also all for respect. Respect people in your community as you would respect yourself. No one, no matter what their race, religion, age, weight, sexual orientation, etc. deserves to be told to follow the people that were once a part of their community and kill themselves.
It is absolutely sickening that they provided statistics.
The creator(s) of this flyer took the time out of their day to research the topic and personally attack a certain group of the Cleveland State University community. As if the material weren’t offensive enough, there was a fascist logo on the bottom of the flyer.
It is time to stop standing by idly, supporting and defending the hate crimes against certain communities that are apart of the melting pot known as the United States of America.
It is time to stop making excuses for the offensive terms and derogatory comments. It is time to stand up and defend everyone, to make them feel comfortable and safe in their home, work, school, and community environments.
I will say this once again, I am extremely disappointed to be a part of a community where the First Amendment is respected when it’s displayed in such an insensitive and offensive manner with the only reason it was being taken down was due to not being approved first, not the material within the flyer.
It’s time for you to stand up!
If you have any questions or comments about what action is going to follow this, feel free to reach out to the school or President Berkman yourself and make your voice/opinion known: hi.president.berkman@csuohio.edu
