The university’s social media team has suspended the official OCU Facebook group for students after the group’s guidelines were violated.
Christin Byrdsong, music alumnus, was in the Facebook group and said there were a series of events that led to the group being suspended, starting with a post by a student about someone writing “Trump 2020” in chalk during the OCU Scholar Strike.
For more on the Scholar Strike, see our article here.
“What caused it all was that someone wrote ‘Trump 2020’ over something that was intended to stand in solidarity with victims of police brutality, and someone in the Facebook group responded and said that hate doesn’t stand at OCU,” he said. “Someone else then posted they felt they were discriminated against for being a Trump supporter, and I thought it was completely insensitive and disrespectful.”
Before suspending the group, the “Oklahoma City University” Facebook page posted in the group acknowledging the opinions shared on the post and in the comment section by students and alumni. The post said the university takes a neutral stance on political matters.
“A University is a place for expression of ideas, and both conservative and liberal viewpoints are welcome at the University. Just like in this forum, expression of ideas are welcome, but not at the expense of attacking others with differing viewpoints. That is not the practice we want on social media or in person on our campus. Hate speech in any form will not be tolerated,” the post said.
The post said any comments made on the post that incited division and hate would be deleted. It also said students should speak confidentially to a member of the university’s administration or contact socialmedia@okcu.edu if they feel they are being, or have been, discriminated against because of their political viewpoint. The Oklahoma City University Facebook page later suspended the OCU group.
Kevin Windholz, vice president for enrollment management and university communications, said the social media team declined to comment on the suspension and creation of these Facebook groups.
Byrdsong said he thought it was the wrong decision to suspend the group after discussion of politics and the Black Lives Matter movement in the group.
“OCU has a history of running from uncomfortable conversations rather than facing them head on, and by refusing to say, ‘Black Lives Matter,’ OCU ran from the conversation,” he said. “The Methodist Church has already stood in support of Black Lives Matter, so for OCU to make a statement saying they were neutral was a complete slap in the face to the students of color at OCU.”
Brian Bressler, cell and molecular biology senior, said he didn’t think hate speech was shared in the posts or its comments to warrant suspending the page.
“I don’t know if ‘hate speech’ would be the right word for it. I know a lot of sensitive subjects were discussed, and people’s feelings were hurt because of other opinions that didn’t really match their own, but I think hate speech is definitely the wrong word to describe what happened,” he said. “Honestly, it was kind of a weird move coming from a university that tries to preach discussion and cooperation.”
He said different opinions are naturally found on social media.
“Everybody has their opinions, and people who want to are going to be more inclined to share their opinions. It doesn’t really matter what page they’re on. Not everyone on the same Facebook page is going to have the same opinions because we all have different experiences, and that’s no one’s fault exactly. It’s just how the world is,” Bressler said.
Bressler also said it’s important to voice concerns to the university.
“You can’t have a decently working organization or university without some type of feedback,” he said. “Sometimes it can be less constructive and more critical, and I think that’s something we can work on. Overall, I think if the university can’t take feedback from its students, then there’s something wrong with the intake of information.”
Jane Goto, marketing and managing junior, said she doesn’t think it was necessary for the university to delete the page.
“I feel like as college kids, we are adult enough to have these conversations, and these conversations need to be had without censorship because if they start censoring people, people don’t get to learn,” Goto said. “So, we should be able to have these conversations openly and honestly and be allowed to share our differing opinions on all sides of everything so that we can learn and grow.”
Goto said she understands the university has to stay politically neutral, but she doesn’t think ‘Black Lives Matter’ should be considered political.
“It’s definitely a moral topic, but everybody has made it so political to the point where we’re forgetting it’s a humane thing, not a political thing,” Goto said.
In place of the “OCU” group, which had members including both current students and alumni, the university created a new Facebook group specifically for current students, “Oklahoma City University: Current Student Group.” The page says page admins will remove students from the group once they graduate.
“This group is for current Oklahoma City University students to share information and discuss events in and around the campus community. This group is for community building, making new friends, questions and concerns, and open and constructive dialogue,” the “about” section of the new page reads.
Dr. Talia Carroll, vice president for diversity and inclusion, said there has already been conversation to create a group solely for current students. She said the university created the ‘OCU’ group in 2011 with the intention of it being for current students.
She said she is creating a new reporting process for student concerns.
“I shared in a recent statement to the campus community that I’ll be creating a reporting process for the entire campus to report concerns regarding campus climate and culture. It is my hope to share this process with the community at the beginning of October,” she said.
Carroll said the university’s statement of neutrality relates to their lack of political affiliations.
“As a non-profit institution of higher education, Oklahoma City University does not officially advocate for the election or defeat of any political candidate and does not officially advocate for the passage or defeat of any legislation,” she said. “I do believe there are social ills that are often politicized, though I do not believe the mattering of people – people’s lives – should have to be political.”
Christin Byrdsong, music alumnus, said he thinks it’s important for students to feel safe to voice their concerns, especially on a college campus. He said he believes in the core values of OCU and hopes the university puts the well-being of the students first.
“I think that OCU is in a great position of power and leadership,” he said. “OCU became my home as a queer, Black man, and while I experienced a lot of great support and a fantastic education, I also experienced a lot of hate and discrimination. But I believe in the core values of my alma mater, and I believe OCU, at its core, is a community of love and support. I think what the OCU community is looking for right now is OCU to take a clear stance on what it stands for and what it supports, and to put the safety and well-being of the students first in every way, not just the way that makes the donors comfortable, but the ways that the students are looking for, because we are in a period of change, and I would hate to see OCU left behind.”
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