"Officials at Cleveland State University are facing a wave of criticism for its response to a placard urging gay people to commit suicide.
“Follow your fellow fa**ots,” the sign had read, which featured various statistics related to suicide in the LGBT community. According to Time, the university’s initial reaction was to stick up for the First Amendment, not denounce the hateful message:
“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,” school president Ronald Berkman said.
Predictably, Berkman’s statement did not go over very well:
The school’s response angered students and provoked protests, petitions, and a tense, crowded town hall meeting where students spoke about LGBT people they knew who took their own lives.
Peter Sherman, a 23-year-old gay Cleveland State theater major, says he participated in the protests and town hall session because he believes the school should ban flyers urging students to kill themselves.
“Asking people to commit suicide is an incitement to violence.”
...In the meantime, keep your eyes and ears open to news of who was responsible for the flyer. That is, if you can find it.
...In the meantime, keep your eyes and ears open to news of who was responsible for the flyer. That is, if you can find it.
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