Last November, UK’s campus, along with other public parts of Lexington, became briefly overrun with pro-life demonstrators vocalizing their cause to unsuspecting scholars just trying to get into Whitehall.

The good, tuition-paying students of the University of Kentucky are no strangers to such events, as evidenced by the infamous lingering presence of one “moon-man,” who regularly espoused his flat-earth conspiracies before being asked to vacate the south portico of the Gatton Student Center.

Nevertheless, controversy abounded when several counter-protesting students were filmed dancing to the tune of Starbursts’ 2007 “Berries and Cream” commercial and chanting “my body, my choice.”

Now, with thousands of views across several social media platforms, UK’s comment sections are flooded with calls to reprimand or even suspend those students. The university quickly responded, saying, “We are aware of the video involving students displaying mocking behavior toward another individual on our campus. The incident is being investigated. At the University of Kentucky, we value mutual respect and civility, even in situations involving strong differences of opinion. This behavior is not in line with our values.”

Why this is only now being discussed, and why the university feels the need to comment on such a mundane and inconsequential event, is beyond me. But if anyone is at fault, it’s certainly not the three women voicing their distaste for the downright vulgar and offensive material being peddled to pedestrians by individuals not remotely affiliated with UK.

The freedom of speech is a sacred and protected institution here; I’m proud to have proven that via two well-spirited and lively debates between the College Democrats and College Republicans, one being over the topic of abortion. But freedom of speech does not incur freedom from consequences, nor does it mean that the University of Kentucky should defend those bespeaking crude graphics in public campus spaces.

And I don’t use the word “defend” without care. Choosing to focus their statement on the women and subversively accusing them of incivility, when it was the anti-abortion demonstrators whose presence initially caused the altercation, is itself a clear admission of support – one that won’t go unnoticed by students who wish to freely express their opinions on campus.

Moreover, by issuing the statement at all, the university has only further subjected the three women in the video to further online harassment. The most recent Instagram post on the official UK page, celebrating Black History Month, is now inundated with comments like “if I were the school, I would definitely be kicking them out for their psychotic behavior…”, or “SUSPEND THOSE STUDENTS.” We can only hope that the students’ identities remain concealed, for their own safety.

I’m not going to make a judgment as to how UK should address the incident in November, but I will come right out in saying that there is a distinct lack of clarity and consistency in how the university directs its policy on free-speech and offensive speech in public places. If the administration is perfectly content with allowing the demonstrators to display their graphic images, then it should also be content with its students mocking them. And moreso, it should not hastily make vague and confusing statements seemingly admonishing the three women who were rightfully exercising their freedom of speech in a university-designated zone.

Being offended is a natural part of being an adult, and controversial statements being made on campus ought not be prohibited, nor should individuals publicly defending their position on a hot button issue. But we can be a little more considerate, can’t we? The university can choose to ban that kind of speech in public spaces moving forward, or it can continue to permit it. Either way, it doesn’t need to defend it, and it certainly can be even marginally more committed to its students and not out-of-towners who expose them unwillingly to graphic imagery.

Addendum:

This week, SGA Senator Danica Moon authored a resolution urging the university to release a follow-up statement indicating that they are not actively investigating the students in the video and that they were rightly exercising their freedom of speech. I urge all my friends in SGA to vote in favor of this resolution to protect campus speech and undo the harm that was done to the women in the video.

Ethan Wallace is a junior political science major at UK, an active member of the College Democrats and supporter of compassionate but well-spirited free speech on campus.