Over 100 University of Oregon students attended the Senate meeting of the Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO) on Jan. 27, when ASUO considered a resolution to urge a conservative community group to stop meeting on campus.  The ASUO Senate voted down the resolution, and is now considering one supporting moving the group’s meetings to a different campus location. 
 
The Pacifica Forum, a self-proclaimed free-speech organization, has a reputation for promoting anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry. The group has been accused of harassing students by posting names and pictures of them on its website and sending threatening emails. While the group is not a student organization, it has met for some time at the University of Oregon’s student union, the EMU, under a policy that allows off-campus organizations to reserve space on campus. 
 
The senators debated intensely leading up to the vote, with frequent audience interruptions. The issue boiled down to a tension between student safety and student free speech. Two senators ended up in tears.
 
Ultimately, ASUO senators reasoned that supporting the resolution would infringe upon Pacifica’s right to free speech.  Some students, however, are disappointed with the decision.

One student said the senate has sanctioned hate speech rather than free speech.
 
“The senators indicated they disliked the content of the Pacifica Forum’s bigotry, but wont ask them to stop targeting students," says undergraduate student Cimmeron Gillespie in a letter to the Oregon Daily Emerald. "Too afraid to even exercise their own free speech, the senators betray their duty to students.”
 
ASUO is now considering another resolution that would express support for students’ vocal opposition of Pacifica, and support the University’s removal of the group from the student union. ASUO is scheduled to vote on Feb. 10.

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