GRC Response

Green River College President Suzanne Johnson hosted a forum on free speech in the River Room of the Student Union building in response to an incident that occurred on campus.

A panel made of several faculty members gave presentations on the topic of free speech. The panel members consisted of staff members Allison Jansen of the Political Science faculty, Devon Klein, a counselor for Green River Counseling Services, Mary Jane Swenson of the Criminal Justice faculty, Frank Primiani of the Business Administration faculty, Marvin Viney, Assistant Director of Campus Safety, Derek Ronnfeldt, Director of Campus Safety, Dr. Deb Casey, Vice President of Student Affairs, and John Clark, Assistant Attorney General.

The forum began with a speech from Johnson, explaining that the forum’s purpose was to have an open discussion of what free speech is, what the parameters of free speech are, and asking the audience what she could do for them.

Following Johnson’s opening speech, the panel hosts introduced themselves and gave opening statements on what free speech was.

After the panel’s opening statements, information about the incident that occurred on Wednesday, May 9 was presented. 

Following this was a PowerPoint presentation about the aspects of protected speech, which the panel said encompassed speech relating, but not limited to, political and religious topics. The panel also said that protected speech extended to speech regarding unpopular opinions.

The panel said that speech is unprotected when it is provocative, incites violence, or promotes terrorism. They added that interpretations of unprotected speech are ambiguous and, given this, unprotected speech is hard to identify.

Following the panel’s free speech presentation, the forum was opened to questions from the audience.

The Q&A began with students and staff asking where Green River would draw the line between free speech and harassment and what students and staff could do to counter offensive speech. One panelist suggested that the best way to counter offensive speech is to engage with an individuals’ own free speech or to ignore the offensive speech altogether. Jansen said that the best way is to turn their cause into something satirical and “Make it into the absurdity it already is.”

An audience member then asked if the college had the authority to remove speakers like Anthony and Ramon. The panelists said that the college did not have the authority to remove speakers from campus.

At one point, Marwa Almusawi, the Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, stepped forward and redirected the Q&A. “This could cause violence,” Almusawi said about the incident. She then said that Parish and his associate Ramon belonged to a known hate group, the “Anti-Jihad Coalition.”

Following this, several audience members raised questions to the panelists about the safety of Green River and its students. One panelist asked what the college would do if an issue like this escalated, especially with the current political climate. The panel said that the college has a close partnership with the Auburn Police, and if any instance of escalation occurred, the police would arrive in minutes to diffuse the situation.

At the forum’s close, panelists were given a chance to provide closing statements. One of the panelists said that the next time something like this happens, students and staff are encouraged to get creative with how to deal with offensive speakers.

Another panelist said that our country is built on debate and that if individuals disagree with or are offended by something a speaker says, individuals should exercise their rights to free speech as well and stand against what is offensive.

Johnson said that the discussion should not end with the forum, but instead be the beginning of an even greater discussion.