VERMILLION, S.D. (AP) - An investigation into a University of South Dakota student group’s decision to rename their “Hawaiian Day” party to avoid backlash has found that administrators who advised the name change didn’t violate the school’s free speech policy.
Sheila Gestring, the university’s president, met with a state legislative committee Wednesday about the Student Bar Association’s move last month to rename its winter social event to “Beach Day,” the Argus Leader reported.
Law school administrators suggested the theme change after receiving a student complaint that the event potentially violated the school’s policy on inclusiveness. Administrators also advised the students not to distribute leis at the party because using items of indigenous cultural significance could be viewed as inappropriate.
The decision came on the same day that South Dakota lawmakers killed a bill that would’ve mandated free speech on college campuses and required the Board of Regents to promote intellectual diversity among college faculty and staff.
Gestring told the legislative committee that sources outside the university put a spotlight on the issue, overwhelming the student group “with pressure from all directions.”
An investigation into the decision found that the party theme didn’t violate the university’s speech policy, nor did administrator’s suggestion against students distributing the traditional flower garlands, Gestring said.
She said the incident serves as a teaching moment for the university. In the future, it’s important for school employees to help students navigate each side of the aftermath, rather than giving them “an out” to a situation, Gestring said.
Republican Rep. Sue Peterson, who sponsored the campus free-speech bill this year, had argued that changing the party’s name violated students’ right to free speech. Peterson said it seems as if some students believed it was better to “self-censor than to let a heckler continue.”
The school’s attorney, AJ Franken, who completed the investigation, said the student association changed the theme because the party was about having fun, not controversy. He acknowledged that students have a right to free speech, but said the renaming didn’t change the goal of the party.
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Information from: Argus Leader, http://www.argusleader.com
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