When I was a student at Swarthmore College, I got emails every October “reminding” us not to wear offensive costumes for Halloween. This was, the emails assured us, in the interest of fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment for all. It would be great if something as simple as what students wore on Halloween could actually accomplish that. But not only did I feel infantilized reading an email telling me not to wear something offensive, I also recognized it as another way my alma mater was chilling expression, albeit with good intentions. Such emails do almost nothing to make the hate go away, but they do silence students who’ve done nothing wrong.
