March 27, 2008

On Monday, March 31, 2008, beginning at 4:00PM, the Michigan Civil Rights Commission (MCRC) will host a public forum on hate speech, free speech, and higher education in the Cook-Dewitt Center on the Allendale Campus of Grand Valley State University.  The campus is located at 1 Campus Drive, Allendale MI, 49401.

As part of the forum, the Commission is seeking students who have been victims of hate or hate speech on any Michigan campus to testify regarding their experiences. The Commission hopes the testimony will provide the students' perspective on the forum topic, which is to examine the line between one student's right to free speech and the next student's right to a hate free learning environment on university campuses.

Students who would like to testify about their experiences are asked to attend the event and provide their perspective to the Commission. The Commission wishes to stress that while it is interested in all perspectives on what can and should be done to foster an ideal campus environment for all, it is not interested in hearing a defense of any particular political or social position.The public forum will follow a general meeting of the Commission scheduled for 3:00PM.

Both the meeting and public forum are open to the public with opportunities for public comment. For more information on the Michigan Civil Rights Commission call 1-800-482-3604 or visit http://www.michigan.gov/mdcr .