In last week’s issue of The Hullabaloo, Carolyn Barber-Pierre, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, was quoted as saying that “You’ve never stopped to think how that would affect you? You’ve never put yourself in the position of people? Now if it would have been a swastika this whole conversation would have been different, totally different. And I hate to call on that because some people say that’s unfair and you can’t use that comparison but again, freedom of speech.”

While I respect her freedom of speech, I think it was completely inappropriate of Ms. Barber-Pierre to make that comparison as a school administrator, let alone an administrator in charge of multicultural affairs. A swastika is symbol of a hate crime. Trump, a presidential candidate, is not.

While I understand Trump is a candidate that campaigns on a racist platform, campaigning for him is not a hate crime. In no way does campaigning for Trump compare to the pain and suffering that my great grandparents and countless other Tulane students’ relatives have encountered during their lifetimes. To compare the two is incredibly anti-Semitic, especially considering the fact that there are many other examples she could have used that did not involve hate crimes. The first example that comes to my mind is when the anti-abortion activists chalk McAlister. There is always a lot of backlash, but again, that is an expression of free speech and not hate.

Multiculturalism involves embracing all members of the community, no matter their race, gender, religion, sexual identity, etc., I hope that Ms. Barber-Pierre considers that the next time she makes a statement to a publication such as The Hullabaloo.

Jared Tromer

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Editor’s note: The Hullabaloo updated Barber-Pierre’s quote online the day after publication. It was pointed out that the quote inaccurately represented her intentions. The Hullabaloo regrets this misunderstanding and updated it as follows: “Now if it would have been a swastika [or another symbol of hate] this whole conversation would have been different, totally different.”