Stop Hate Speech!

As much as we try to avoid them, hate speech and other forms of verbal abuse are all around us, even in the most unexpected places. One of the more recent incidents of hate speech has been at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – the place where I will be spending the next four years. On April 4, a UNC-Chapel Hill freshman, Quinn Matney, told police that while standing outside of his dorm talking to another individual, he was called an anti-gay slur and then burned by hot metal on his left wrist.

As they should, the University eventually spoke out and made the incident public. Dr. Holden Thorp, Chancellor of UNC-Chapel Hill stated that the university takes hate crimes “seriously” and “strives to foster a welcoming, inclusive and safe environment.” However, although the university planned to report the hate crime to the federal government, they realized that they could not because Matney was unable to say neither his attacker was nor who the person with whom he was speaking with before attacked was. Furthermore, although police has tried to contact Matney to gain more information, they have not been able to.

In my opinion, it is hard to get all of the facts straight regarding the incident that night. I think that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has done all they can in response to the situation, especially with what information they have been given. I do believe that all hate speech is unacceptable in any way, and that verbal and physical abuse due to someone’s sexual orientation is completely intolerable. Although I will be attending this UNC next year, this incident does not make me think less of the University in any way. Hate crimes happen everywhere; how we handle them is what makes the difference.

--Mattie