Students and faculty at the University of Oregon in Eugene have been up in arms since the extremist Pacifica Institute started holding meetings on their campus.
Pacifica, deemed a hate group by experts, insists it is merely providing a forum for speakers with diverse views. Recent speakers at the U or Oregon have called Martin Luther King, Jr. a "communist dupe," others have denied the Holocaust and called the Russian Revolution a Jewish conspiracy. At a meeting last December, the Nazi salute was given.
Students have been protesting the group, both outside buildings where they appear and during meetings, demanding that they be banned from campus. University officials say they feel torn between the need to protect free speech, and the anti-tolerance message Pacifica's speakers convey.
Blog
February 1, 2010 - 5:53pm
Jan. 16 - Feb. 1, 2010 Report Hate Violence and Community Responses
Arlington, VA: A Virginia legislator introduces a bill to make attacks on the homeless a hate crime in his state. A similar initiative is underway in Florida, which leads the nation in attacks on homeless people.
January 26, 2010 - 7:04pm
CA: In January and February, the Westboro Baptist Church, a hate group from Topeka, Kansas, targeted schools, religious institutions and other organizations across California.
We'd like to share a few of the creative, peaceful ways students and community members are responding to Westboro's message of hate, and open our comments section up to spread the word about any other unity activities taking place across the state.
January 22, 2010 - 5:04pm
San Francisco Bay Area, CA: Fred Phelps of the so-called Westboro Baptist Church, a hate group from Topeka, Kansas, is targeting San Francisco-Bay Area schools, organizations, and houses of worship to picket this coming week. We'd like to help facilitate community strategies for response.
January 19, 2010 - 5:47pm
Walnut Creek, CA-
Three dozen residents of Contra Costa County, California, gathered January 14 to discuss new ways to coordinate community responses to hate and intolerance through NIOT.org at a breakfast meeting co-sponsored by the Interfaith Council of Contra Costa.
After a welcome by Reverend Brian Stein-Webber, the Interfaith Council's Executive Director, and Mary Alice O'Connor of the Mount Diablo Peace and Justice Center, Not In Our Town Executive Producer Patrice O'Neill led a group discussion about emerging local issues that ranged from concerns over bullying in the local schools, attacks on day laborers, and the challenges of community response after a recent gang rape.