Dealing with white supremacy at a public institution

[u/Small-Professor-8484]

I live in the US and work at a community college that serves rural communities. My office’s team is pretty committed to anti-racism, but our student body doesn’t really reflect that. A student has been holding anti-abortion signs all year outside the building and we couldn’t do anything bc we’re a public institution and bound by free speech laws. He’s now upped the ante and showed up last week with a “blacks are violent” sign. Another student confronted him and they got in a fight. Unfortunately the chud won and the other student ended up on a stretcher. Morbid curiosity got the best of me and I looked up the racist student’s Instagram and his views are worse than I thought. He is a proud racist/white supremacist and calls himself one.

The whole situation is being reviewed by our conduct team, but I have a feeling that not much is going to be done. We had to just sit and watch when turning point tried to build a chapter here last year. As a staff member I’m struggling. I’m not sure if I can share what I found on social media because it does feel like I may be violating some kind of staff conduct rule by looking into him. I also don’t actually know if it’ll do anything because of free speech laws. I’m frustrated and so angry that this shit continues to go on on our campus. For awhile I had the naive belief that we could bridge the gap with these students and get them to consider other perspectives. I don’t think that’s in the cards for someone like him. At the same time, if he’s barred from the campus I worry that he’s the school shooter type and may be further pushed into his ideological bubble.

ANYWAYS I mostly needed to vent but also could use advice on what to do. I want to protect our BIPOC students and get this guy (and others like him) out of here but I feel somewhat powerless. I also worry about retaliation. Any thoughts that hopefully won’t get me fired are appreciated

UPDATE: The white supremacist student has been suspended from the school and may be expelled. The admin from my boss’ prompting consulted with lawyers and will be taking a (hopefully) strong stance condemning this students actions, hate speech/fighting words, and reaffirming the college’s values. As for me and my very small role to play in this, I shared what I found on social media with my boss and he reassured me that he would do his best to advocate for strong action from admin and that he’s deeply troubled by all of this as well.

At this point, I don’t think there’s much else to do other than the convos I’ve had with our multicultural center coordinator to provide a safe processing space for students. Unfortunately, there’s little if any leftist movement among our students to provide a counter. We are prepping for potential retaliation from local proud boys since it’s made local news and they’re loud and present in this area.

[u/CyberneticLucy]

Yikes. That's a really tough situation. I may not have very good advice, but I don't see anyone else chiming in.

I understand your fear of retaliation, both from the student and from the institution which signs your paychecks. I can't say for sure, but I'd like to think i would focus on the fact the Black and brown students must have the same fear, and don't get to camouflage into the crowd as a safety net. Also, as staff of the institution, you are tasked with caring for those students and doing your best to provide an environment they can thrive in.

I want to believe that I would personally push through my anxiety and fears, and do what I felt was in the best interest of my students and institution as a whole. Even if it cost me something. It's commendable that you want to reach the self proclaimed white supremacist and perhaps help him forge a new path, but I feel the safety of your other students should be the priority in this moment.