Despite concerns raised after a recent incident at N.C. State, SGA moves ahead with plan for new public forum

A free speech graffiti wall might adorn the UNC Asheville campus soon, despite recent controversy over such a forum at North Carolina State University.

"We're banking on the good will of UNCA students to typically want to live in a good, coexisting environment," said Courtney Galatioto, chair of the Student Government Association Aesthetics Committee. "I don't really see that being a problem, but it's a good reason to sort of pause and go into this with a level head, to sort of see what can be done."

The Aesthetics committee, in conjunction with campus officials, is drawing up a proposal concerning how much the wall might cost and where it would be located.

The committee wants the wall to be near Highsmith Student Union and considers an existing wall between Highsmith and Mills Hall the ideal location, because it's centrally located and already exists.

Galatioto, sophomore classics and history student, referred to a group of students at N.C. State who wrote racial slurs and threats toward Barack Obama on the university's free speech wall.

The graffiti sparked controversy, because it contained death threats. The Secret Service investigated the case and determined the writings posed no danger to the president-elect. The issue still fuels debate, with organizations like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People urging the university to expel the students.

"How do you censor a free speech wall?" Austin Mack, a freshman SGA senator, asked. "We don't want anybody to be in control of it. We don't want it to be (SGA's) wall."

Mack said if SGA or another organization took control of the wall, whatever they decided to remove would be censorship.

"What happens at places like Greensboro and Duke is that if people didn't like something, they'd spray paint over it. There are not, until recently, usually threats and extremely offensive things," Galatioto said.

Being able to both write anything you want on the wall and have the student body - not an organization - cover it up and replace it with something else makes it a free speech forum, Mack said. Nonetheless, the recent events at N.C. State gave SGA a reason to pause and think about possible outcomes of such a public expression forum.

"Technically, they said it was free speech," said Heather Hughes, senior multimedia arts and sciences student. "You can't have censored free speech. You have to be aware of what people are going to say."

Hughes said that freedom of speech concerns should be balanced with any attempt to control the wall's content.

"If you say free speech, it's free," she said. "You have to let it go. At the same time, (the students who wrote it) should have known it was a little over the top. I don't think they can expel them based on the technicality of the free speech wall. It should be frowned upon, but not censored."

SGA is in the middle of the proposal, according to Galatioto.

The aesthetics committee is working with Bill Haggard, vice chancellor for student affairs, on the proposal.

"SGA always aims high, we start with ideally what the students want," Galatioto said. "We aim high to see what we can get away with, because our first interest is students. Ideally when we're drawing proposal we're not really putting ramifications on what can and cannot be said."

Campus officials are receptive to the idea of a free speech or graffiti wall, Galatioto said.

"We will probably wait to submit a final proposal at the beginning of next semester to let stuff at NC State blow over," Galatioto said. We don't want them to say no because of legal ramifications. We're going to see where State goes and modify based on that.

The comments on NC State's wall echo other hate crimes incited by the recent election, according the NAACP.

"At a time when we as a nation are celebrating our demonstrated diversity as Americans of every race, color, ethnicity, economic status, religion and gender, having gone to the polls in record numbers to vote for and elect Sen. Barack Obama president of the United States, there are unfortunately those who are still living in a past filled with hatred, fear and division," said NAACP Vice President of Advocacy and Washington Bureau Director Hilary O. Shelton.

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