In her article “CT considers anti-hate speech rule for college campuses”, Amanda McCard’s statement that SB980 has “fierce opposition and staunch support from students, professors and community members across the state” makes me wonder if McCard was at the same public hearing on March 7 as the rest of us.
The fierce opposition to SB980 was crystal clear; however, I saw very little staunch support. Out of 150 in-person testimonies, not more than an approximate dozen were in support of it. Out of 196 written testimonies, only 16 supported it. The grand totals? Out of 346 testimonies, only an approximate 26 supported SB980. These numbers make McCard’s “Most of the testimony took issue with the bill” a vast understatement.
The fierce opposition to SB980 was also incredibly diverse; Muslims, Jews, Christians, and many others all testified against the bill. Bizarrely, McCard chooses to highlight the testimony of a UConn student who supported the bill as a corrective to antisemitism, yet says nothing about the dozens more Jews who testified against the bill, arguing that its passage would do nothing to stop antisemitism and would make them feel less safe, not more.
McCard omitted several other themes of the seven-hour long hearing. Muslim testifiers against the bill made clear they felt the inclusion of Islamophobia in the bill was useless tokenism and repeatedly made the point that no Muslim organizations had been consulted in its drafting. Those opposing the bill, whatever their background, consistently highlighted it as a dangerous tool for the suppression of speech and academic freedom, able and likely to be exploited by bad actors. Several professors or academic administrators noted that schools already have mechanisms in place for responding to allegations of bias or harassment.
So yes, Connecticut residents “took issue with the bill”; despite State Sen. Matt Lesser’s assurances, they responded to SB980 with a resounding NO.
Jenny Haddad Mosher is a member of MARUF-CT (Muslim Advocacy for Rights, Unity, and Fairness)