This is a presentation designed for college students to help them understand the implications of offensive terms and hate speech. Students will explore where these messages are present in our society and on campus and discuss ways to confront them.

1. WHAT ARE YOU REALLY SAYING?
CONFRONTING HATE SPEECH ON CAMPUS AND IN
SOCIETY
Megan Schwab
mschwab@admin.fsu.edu

2. IN THIS SESSION
• You will learn how your speech and the speech of
others’ can harm people around you
• You will examine how harmful speech is present in our
society
• You will begin to develop methods to confront
disrespect and hate speech

3. ABOUT THIS SESSION…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTdCa6vbvTk

4. WHAT IS HATE SPEECH?
Speech that attacks a person or group on the basis of …
Religion Sexual Orientation
Race
Mental Capacity
Ethnicity
Gender Socio-economic Status
Beliefs Age
Ability

5. WHERE DO YOU ENCOUNTER HATE SPEECH?
• Poll – where have you heard or seen hate speech?
http://www.polleverywhere.com/free_text_polls/MjAwNjQyNzIwOA

6. HOW DOES HATE SPEECH EFFECT PEOPLE?
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUtCPVsLS4w
• The Harm Thesis: words can hurt people in the same way physical blows can
• Victims of hate speech can experience psychological symptoms similar to Post-traumatic
Stress Disorder:
• Panic
• fear
• anxiety
• nightmares
• Harm may be exacerbated if a victim’s friends or subordinates witness the incident
• http://www.funlol.com/9596/CNN_Coverage_of_The_South_Park_N-Word_Episode.html

7. SCENARIO 1
• You and your Hispanic friend, Maria, were having lunch at the mall. A
couple of Caucasian students passed by and yelled, “Hey, why don’t
you go back to where you came from?”
http://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/LTI1NjU1NDE3Ng
http://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/LTE4MDAwNDA4ODY

8. SCENARIO 2
• You’re watching a local news show. There are two news reporters, one male and
one female. The female reporter has just finished reporting that women still receive
less income on a national average than do men. Following the story, the male
reporter comments, “… and we all know that is the way it should be.”
http://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/LTI1NjU1NDE3Ng
http://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/LTE4MDAwNDA4ODY

9. SCENARIO 3
• You are walking to class with your roommate Steve. It’s icy and Steve slips
and falls. Embarrassed, he stands up and said, “Was anybody looking? I
feel so retarded.”
• http://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/LTI1NjU1NDE3Ng
• http://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/LTE4MDAwNDA4ODY

10. CONFRONTING HATE SPEECH
• Hate speech and slurs are protected by First Amendment rights
until they escalate to the level of a threat.
• Many people think it’s no big deal
• What defines hate speech – is it the intended message of the
sender or the perception of the message by the recipient?
• Have any of you ever engaged in a constructive dialogue about
hate speech?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEpBYKOs3ys

11. WHAT DO YOU THINK?
• http://www.polleverywhere.com/free_text_polls/MjA5ODI0MzU5NA

12. WE HOPE THAT YOU WILL NOW:
• Be able to recognize hate speech in the media and at
your school
• Understand how hate speech impacts others
• Encourage those around you to think about the words
they use

13. REFERENCES
• Jay, T. (2009). Do offensive words harm people? Psychology, Public Policy, and Law
15(2), 81-101.
• Hatfeild, Schafer & Stroup (2005). A dialogic approach to confronting hate speech on
college campuses. Atlantic Journal of Communication 13(1), 41-55.
• Leets, L. (2002). Experiencing hate speech: Perceptions and responses to anti-semitism
and antigay speech. Journal of Social Issues, 58(2), 341-361

14. • Megan Schwab
• mschwab@admin.fsu.edu
“The most common motives for hate speech are ignorance and repressed
hostility. Other motives include power and dominance, coercion and
emotional agitation. The good news is that it is possible to educate
people to overcome ignorance and cope with repressed hostility.”
(Leets, 2002).