Nick Griffin, the controversial British politician, and his speech on our campus Friday are matters of grave concern. While we respect the First Amendment and right to free speech, Mr. Griffin goes against some of the very basic principles that are at the core of MSU. While Mr. Griffin has a notorious past of Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism, his speech was designed to argue against principles like multiculturalism and racial equality. He spoke of the melting pot “boiling over,” and we believe that his assessment of our culture is incorrect and racist. We believe that America is more like how MSU is — a large group of many different cultures working in cohesion together, making up a diverse but unified community.
On MSU’s campus, various multicultural groups have shown time and time again that, despite the beliefs of Mr. Griffin and Young Americans for Freedom they can work together. Groups like the Jewish Student Union and the Muslim Student Association have worked together on many occasions, as have many other diverse student groups on campus. At their meeting Friday morning, the MSU Board of Trustees expressed similar concerns to ours, espousing that Mr. Griffin’s speech went against basic principles of our community.
