The impetus for this forum was MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon’s Oct. 4 campuswide email addressing free speech in the wake of recent racial incidents on campus.

In the email, Simon said, “It should go without saying that the University supports free speech including the use of words that are offensive to most in our community,” but she also criticized the derogatory actions. Some felt addressing free speech rights was ill-timed.

College students have many opportunities to express themselves, from speaking up in class to leading a student organization.

However, without the knowledge of what does and doesn’t constitute protected speech, the right to express themselves can be revoked.

Also, learning the difference between free speech and hate speech in a forum setting makes a difference in how students receive the information. When dealing with issues of protected speech, the atmosphere can get charged very quickly. It’s better for students to have an opportunity to learn the core concepts behind these issues in a calm setting, such as one where hate speech is analyzed instead of verbalized.

An open discussion without agenda and with context is how students should learn in the classroom. It only makes sense for students to learn lessons from outside the classroom in a similar fashion; the point of college is to learn from professors as well as social situations peers and peers. Information and clarification about what makes hate speech is more vital to stopping it than rhetoric about the fine line between free and hate speech.

Free speech is allowed to be offensive and even disrespectful to some. But crossing the line into hate speech, making individuals feel threatened in their environment, is unacceptable.

Having a proper environment in which to discuss the difference between the two is an invaluable experience. However, students have to want to be educated about their rights. Only about 30 students attended the forum, far fewer than the hundreds that chose to exercise their right to free speech in an October march protesting the administration’s response to racist incidents.

Students should be encouraged to exercise their First Amendment rights, and a forum like the one last week is a great way for them to learn to do that.

No one wants to limit students’ freedom of expression; however, to make a true impact when exercising their rights, students have to know where protected speech ends and hate speech begins.