Reason TV went to Occidental's campus to find out what exactly constitutes a microaggression. A Columbia psychology professor defined the term this way:
Microaggressions are everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to targeted individuals based solely on their membership in a marginalized group.
After exploring the limits of a microaggression reporting system, we discussed broader free speech issues with students following a month of campus protests that resulted in the resignations of several members faculty and a university president.
Most students defended free speech in principle, if not always in practice. That's consistent with a recent Pew Research Center survey, which found that while 95 percent of Americans agree that people should be allowed to publicly criticize government policies, their support erodes when the issue turns to offensive speech. While a majority of millennials continue to believe the government should protect offensive speech toward minorities, 40% think the government should restrict this type of speech.
/"If you say 'You're less of a person because you're Muslim/Jewish/Christian/Catholic…that's not okay. That's a hate crime/'" one student told us.
Another student argued that the government should restrict Donald Trump's speech, while a protest organizer told us that free speech is a rhetorical tool used by the privileged against the oppressed.
Visit http://reason.com/reasontv for downloadable versions. Around 8:30 a.m. Produced by Zach Weissmueller. Photographed by Lexy Garcia. Additional post-production by Josh Swain. Music by Anitek, Redmann and Doron Deutsch.
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