Pacific Institute | Not in Our Town

Pacific Institute

Eugene, OR: Students at the University of Oregon  have been up in arms since the Pacifica Institute started holding meetings on their campus. Pacifica Institute, deemed a white nationalist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, insists it is merely providing a forum for speakers with diverse views. Recent speakers the group brought to the U of Oregon have called Martin Luther King, Jr. a "communist dupe," 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. One student who left the school over the group's presence told reporters: "I do not want to be on a campus where the president talks about diversity and inclusiveness but still allows a hate group on campus."
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. What are the limits of free speech? Should there be different standards for schools, universities and other educational institutions? Has your school or town had to decide whether or not to host Pacifica Institute, or any similar group with extremist, hateful views?