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

Written By James 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 student 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, which is located near the room with the "F--- UVA" sign, 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.Update: I have updated the text to correct an error in which I identified "Room 10" as the room with the "F--- UVA" sign.-- JAB

James Bacon

After a 25-year career in Virginia journalism, James A. Bacon founded Bacon’s Rebellion in 2002 a blog with the goal of “Reinventing Virginia for the 21st Century.” Its focus is on building more prosperous, livable and sustainable communities. In recent years he has concentrated more on the spread of “woke” ideology in K-12 schools, the criminal justice system, higher education, and medicine.

In 2021, he co-founded The Jefferson Council to preserve free speech, intellectual diversity, and the Jeffersonian legacy at his alma mater the University of Virginia. He previously served as the organization’s executive director, now serving as congributing editor.

Aside from blogging, Bacon writes books. His first was Boomergeddon: How Runaway Deficits Will Bankrupt the Country and Ruin Retirement for Aging Baby Boomers — And What You Can Do About It, followed by Maverick Miner: How E. Morgan Massey Became a Coal Industry Legend and a work of science fiction, Dust Mites: the Siege of Airlock Three.

A Virginian through-and-through, Bacon lives in Richmond with his wife Laura.

https://www.baconsrebellion.com/wp/
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