Is Love More Powerful than Hate on UVa’s Lawn?

Written for Bacon’s Rebellion by James A Bacon

A University of Virginia student shared the photo above and appended the following anonymous note:

I am a student at UVA. I put out these signs this morning (10/31) to show my support for the University, and to counter the hate in the messages posted on the doors behind the signs. All they say is the simple message “I love UVA.”

I put the signs up at 8:00 am. In less than 1 hr 1/2 hours, the fourth year living in lawn Room 10, with friends, ripped all the signs down. You can see my signs in Room 10 in one of the attached photos.

So much for free speech.

Please speak out. The First Amendment applies to everyone.

Question: How will the UVa administration spin this incident? President Jim Ryan says the occupant of Room 10, who posted “F— UVA” on her door is protected by free speech. Does our correspondent also have a protected right to express the sentiment on a sign that says “I ♥ UVA”? Does the occupant of Room 10 have the right to take down signs she disapproves of? If so, do other students have the right to take down her sign?

My prediction: The administration’s first instinct will be to ignore the incident in the hope that it will just go away. Its second instinct, if pressed, will be to find some pharisaical distinction why the one is different from the other, how the one warrants protection and the other doesn’t. We’ll see…

The signs are now sequestered inside Room 10, as seen in this photo. How my correspondent gained access to the room to take the photo, he or she did not explain.