THE BACKGROUND
Last November, Members of the Monmouth University College Republicans participated in the The College of New Jersey’s (TCNJ) College Republicans GroupMe chat where many hateful and bigoted opinions were expressed targeting members of the Jewish, Palestinian, and LGBTQIA+ communities.
TCNJ’s student-run newspaper, “The Signal,” shed light on TCNJ’s College Republicans GroupMe in the editorial titled, “When is it enough? Students deserve action from Student Conduct” published on Feb. 7.
The article included images of some of the posts, majority of which were, turns out, posted by a MU College Republican club member. One such post made by the high-ranking E-Board member of MU’s College Republicans club stated, “These people would get bullied n humbled at monmouth,” referring to the members of the TCNJ’s LGBTQIA+ community and pride club, PRISM.
We set out to check the accuracy of this, and similar comments made in the GroupMe chatroom. The chatroom was available to the public through the link posted on the TCNJ’s College Republicans GroupMe Instagram page. Anyone with the link was able to access the chat. The link was removed shortly after the “The Signal” editorial was published.
The content of the chat was documented by screenshots taken by an unnamed source. “We received a tip from another individual outside of ‘The Signal’ who alerted us to messages being sent about “The Signal’s” editors related to a recent election story that was published,” stated Tristan Weisenbach, Editor-in-Chief of “The Signal.”
The screenshots of the messages were shared with “The Outlook.” Of the 16 screenshots that have been provided to us, 36 messages were posted by the member of Monmouth University who identified themselves in the chat. The individual is on MU’s College Republican Club’s E-Board. At least one other member of the club participated in the chat.
At TCNJ, the editorial members strongly condemned the statements but also called for action from the administration after they filed a bias report with the TCNJ’s Office of Student Conduct last November. On Dec. 18, 2024, per the editorial, they were informed that there was insufficient evidence to bring charges as per the Student Conduct Code.
“We thought it was important to write the editorial because we shouldn’t tolerate that kind of hate on our campus. Our school did not take any disciplinary action against the students, and we thought they [referring to the administration] should have done more,” Weisenbach said.
TCNJ President, Michael Bernstein responded to the editorial in the form of a “Letter to the editor” published in “The Signal” on Feb. 11. In the letter, Bernstein responded directly to the sentiments expressed in the original editorial, i.e., that the school should have done more to address the hateful comments. “While I understand the desire expressed in ‘The Signal’ editorial piece to see disciplinary action taken in this matter, our obligation as a public institution of higher education necessitates caution and prudence in pursuing any steps that inappropriately infringe upon free speech rights,” Bernstein wrote.
Bernstein referred to the First Amendment and the Supreme Court, to argue that the speech was not offensive enough for formal action to take place. According to Bernstein, in reference to the Supreme Court, speech must be “so severe, pervasive, and objectionably offensive that it can be said to deprive the victims of access to the educational opportunities or benefits provided by the school.” Bernstein also added, “…the First Amendment does not shield those who made the comments ‘from criticism by students, faculty, or the broader community. Criticism is a form of ‘more speech,’ the remedy to offensive expression the First Amendment prefers to censorship.”
However, Mac Ziminski the President of TCNJ’s PRISM club believes that their educational opportunities were affected. “I thought it couldn’t be that bad until I read it [the chat] and then they [chat participants] were dehumanizing my friends. They called [retracted refrence to individual] a pedophile, they thought that we were going to die for a fundraiser to give water to people that don’t have access to it, and so many other awful things like making fun of our friend’s nicknames, which is a very normal thing to have… It just kept getting worse and worse the more you kept reading. Nobody from the administration talked to me or any of the victims about how this has impacted our education. Last semester, I didn’t do work for a week… I was too emotional to focus on it and now the same thing is happening again. To say my education has not been destructed is a lie,” said Ziminski.
President Bernstein did condemn the comments and stated that not all the participants in the chat were TCNJ students. “‘The Signal’s’ editorial focused on hateful comments made last fall by participants (not all of whom were TCNJ students) in the GroupMe chat of a recognized student organization. Let me say upfront that I found the comments to be abhorrent and wholly inconsistent with the College’s values,” concluded Bernstein.
THE MESSAGES
The high-ranking member of the MU College Republicans Club mentioned Monmouth twice in the messages they posted. One message consisted of the individual stating they attend Monmouth along with their position on the College Republican E-board. We found that the bulk of the messages posted by the MU College Republicans were targeted at the LGBTQIA+ community.
While the entirety of the contents weren’t shared with us, of the messages that were shared, five demonstrated the Monmouth student engaging in LGBTQIA+ hate speech. The exact dates and order of these messages were not available in the screenshots provided to the paper, but we’ve learned from TCNJ’s editorial staff that the messages were sent in November after the presidential elections were concluded, on or around Nov. 17, 2024.
We examined several of the screenshots containing the posts. The first instance was a reaction to a member of TCNJ’s College Republican’s sending a screenshot of a “Paint N Sip” event hosted by TCNJ’s PRISM. The event benefitted Palestinians through attendee donations to “Operation Olive Branch.” The Monmouth member responded in three separate messages, “U realize,” “Ppl [people] on palestine,” “Would kill any gay person.”
In the second instance, a TCNJ member sent a screenshot of the “Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil,” also hosted by PRISM. In response, the Monmouth member stated in three separate messages, “Are you fucking seriois [sic],” “This is disgusting,” “Who tf [the fuck] would wanna participate in that.”
The event honored “those who lost their lives to transphobic hate crimes,” as stated on the flyer.
In the third instance, a screenshot of a TCNJ student’s Instagram page was sent to the TCNJ College Republicans GroupMe. The Monmouth member stated in two separate messages, “Wht [sic] the fuck is that thing,” “Thats a thing,” referring to the person in the image.
In the fourth instance, a screenshot of the PRISM Instagram page—which showed an introduction of a member of the club—was sent by the Monmouth member on Nov. 17, 2024. With the photo, the Monmouth member said in two separate messages, “Thats a minor???,” “Queer studies.” This comment was regarding the academic minor of the TCNJ student in the post. To this message, a TCNJ GroupMe member questioned the gender of the TCNJ student in the post, “[retracted name of the student] is a ‘man’????” After this, the Monmouth student responded, “Queer studies minors must love minors.”
Finally, in the fifth screenshot, another post from the PRISM Instagram page was sent introducing another member of the club. Included with the sending of this post, the Monmouth member stated, “Yeah cuz…….these people would get bullied n humbled at monmouth,” followed by a laughing emoticon.
REACTIONS
We reached out to many faculty, students, and the members of administration here at Monmouth for comments.
“I’m going to be honest; I am disgusted by the comments made by Monmouth students, but not surprised,” stated Sarah George, President of Monmouth’s Pride Club.
“During my time here, Monmouth University has become more diverse with each passing year, however, the culture remains the same. Admins boast about their strides in diversity, equity, and inclusion, yet shun anything that doesn’t maintain the status quo. This reinforces an environment where students can spread heinous messages with little to no repercussions. Our E-Board had to report hateful messages from students to administrators previously and next to nothing had been done. I hate that these comments are not being taken seriously, but I know that our community grows stronger each day,” George said.
We reached out to President Leahy for a comment and we recieved the following statement via email, “I’m not sure I fully understand what’s going on here, but, regardless, I unequivocally condemn hate speech of any kind. It does not represent the values of Monmouth University at all. And, I do not believe these sentiments are widely circulated around Monmouth.”
Growing diversity at Monmouth has been one of the main strategic goals. About 34% of the roughly 850 incoming first-year students identified as racially and ethnically diverse, according to the AOL article, “Monmouth University’s new freshman are most diverse group in school’s 91-year history.”
Dr. James Pillar, Vice President for Student Life, condemned the statements while emphasizing MU’s freshman’s class diversity. “Monmouth currently has the most diverse class in 91 years after the enrollment of the freshman class in the fall,” he said. “The statements made were offensive and they are contrary to the values we strive for at Monmouth.” He continued, “I encourage all students to engage with one another in a mature manner that promotes a mutual understanding. Language that demeans or disrespects others does not belong in any community.”
Pillar further elaborated, “As a community, we take pride in the diversity of our student body and view it as a strength of our institution. The comments referenced in the GroupMe do not represent Monmouth, our students, or our commitment to creating a welcoming campus for all. Reading the published (TCNJ) article saddened me, as it reinforces the need for all of us to be committed to caring for one another and engaging in respectful conversations. We must continue working together to foster a campus where mutual respect remains at the center of who we are.”
Regarding the specific comment implicating Monmouth and making inferences about the Monmouth culture, George, explained, “These people would get bullied n humbled at monmouth,’ that is vile. The administration should be ashamed that students on campus believe that bullying members of the LGBTQIA+ community is in any way right. However, as I’ve stated before, I do not think members of the Pride Club would be surprised by these comments. Unfortunately, too many of our members have been victims of bigotry and ignorance on campus before. The Pride Club is founded on inclusivity and kindness – values that not everyone can appreciate. And yet, we chose to be louder, and our support is growing. We have a solid network of support through faculty and professional staff,” said George.
Zaneta Rago-Craft, Ed.D., Intercultural Center Director and Advisor to the President on Diversity and Inclusion said, “This comment [referring to the GroupMe chat post referencing Monmouth] does not reflect the values we strive to uphold as a campus community. That does not mean that our campus community is without bias, nor does it mean we don’t have room to grow in fostering understanding and inclusion, especially amongst our students. We all have a role to play in committing to creating an environment where all students feel safe, respected, and valued.”
Pride Club organized a general meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 19 where the comments were addressed and members had an opportunity to show support for one another, according to George. “As of right now, I do not know how many of our members have been made aware of what happened since there have been no mentions of it in our group chats. While some try to tear us down, our community is strong. Our E-Board is even more determined to increase our visibility on campus. The LGBTQIA+ community is built on resilience and hardship, and we are stronger for it. We will not hide while hate is being normalized,” they said.
From a student perspective, Lauren Bevacqua, senior English and education major, stated, “As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I am extremely disappointed with the words and statements said. I have felt safe on Monmouth’s campus and have never witnessed anybody being bullied because of their gender or sexuality. If that were to happen, those people need to keep their opinions to themselves and should be reported for making homophobic or transphobic comments.”
“The comments that came from the GroupMe chats are disgusting and hideous,” stated Joel Savinon, senior business administration major. “I think it’s obvious that this world thrives on love and whenever you start to stray away from that you tend to be in the wrong. no one should feel like that because of their sexuality or because of any demographic. I feel for the students that were affected by the comments and I also pray for the students who were a part of the messaging and hope that they see where they were wrong”
Faculty advisor of The Pride Club, Amanda Stojanov, M.F.A., and Assistant Professor, in Digital Media, explained that no student should have to worry about discrimination from their own community. “It is always distressing to hear of hateful speech occurring in any community, especially on a college campus. Students come primarily to learn, but they are also here to build lasting relationships and create formative experiences that shape their personal and academic growth. They deserve to experience all of this in an environment free from discrimination.”
Professor of Sociology and Helen Bennett McMurray Endowed Chair of Social Ethics, Johanna Foster said, “Those statements are abhorrent, and also enraging. It was heartbreaking to learn they were authored by a member of our MU student community.”
Foster continued to explain that hate speech often flourishes online due to the detached yet intimate nature—known as “social distance”—that can occur simultaneously in group chats such as this. “In social interactions that are intimate,” she said, “the rules or norms often allow people to share sentiments that would not be welcome outside of the intimate space. Likewise, when the social distance is very wide, and when there is no real immediate accountability from others to enforce norms of respect and decency, people can get away with being outrageous or hurtful because the normative check is not as potent.”
Foster added, “While students have speech rights that permit the utterance of derogatory sentiments, it does not mean we have to condone them or be silent about their cruelty and the harm that their protected expression creates, especially if we value a community where the dignity and safety of all of our members is a reality and not just lip service.”
She further encouraged educators and students alike to utilize their own free speech to promote frank dialogue about the negative effects of hate speech. “Right now, many people, including our nation’s leaders, are keen to protect the free speech rights of people to share their ill-informed and hateful prejudicial values and beliefs, but are also actively moving to criminalize teachers’ rights to educate students about why and how those values and beliefs are misguided, harmful, and also often plain wrong. You can’t protect hate speech and at the same time censor the voices that are calling it out. To do so is a kind of authoritarianism,” Foster concluded.
Although this type of hate speech is covered under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the statements made clearly constitute cyberbullying. According to stopbullying.gov, “Cyberbullying includes sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false, or mean content about someone else.”
ACCOUNTABILITY
“The purpose of the College Republicans is to make known and promote the principles of the Republican Party among members of the campus and community,” says the statement found on MU’s Campus Life webpage, and under the Clubs and Organizations listing. We asked Giavanna Cangialosi, the President of MU College Republicans if the chat comments support these stated goals.
“Although everyone is entitled to free speech and their own opinions, the opinions of one individual do not reflect those of a whole organization,” said Cangialosi. “Assuming that certain comments represent the opinions of a whole group, regardless of viewpoint or topic, is misleading and feeds negative stereotypes…In short, these messages were disappointing and unacceptable. They were wrong and hurtful,” she said.
We also asked whether she believes that the poster of these messages should or will be facing any consequences, Cangialosi replied, “Yes.” At the time of the publication of this article, no members of the College Republican’s E-board have stepped down, and we are not aware if anyone is, or will be facing any consequences.
Cangialosi also asserted that she does not think there is a reason to believe sentiments like these are directed at students who attend Monmouth University. “From the looks of the messages, none of the messages were towards/about any student at Monmouth University.”
We were also keen on getting the views on the chat messages and the potential accountability for the poster of the messages from the MU College Republicans Club’s advisor. The Office of Student Engagement informed us that the club does not currently have one.
Student Government Association (SGA) President, Tanner Purdy, said that these comments go against the sense of community at Monmouth, and the SGA’s efforts to promote it. “It is always our hope and expectation that students from all organizations are being good representatives of Monmouth University,” he said. “SGA was very disappointed to learn that members of this student body allegedly made the comments referenced. We unequivocally condemn the presence of cultural and social insensitivity/hate in any space where students congregate, be it in a physical or virtual environment. The SGA strives to create an inclusive atmosphere both in the confines of our organization and the campus community at large.”
Purdy continued, “It is our belief that the higher education space stands to serve as a place where people from different backgrounds and perspectives should be able to come together and learn from one another, and we continue to work with students, faculty, and institutional partners to achieve this goal. We are fortunate to have an existing relationship with student leaders from the Pride Club, University leadership, and Intercultural Center. It is our intention to connect with those groups to extend our full support, since no community members should feel excluded, ostracized, or made unwelcome.”
In addition to homophobic and transphobic messages, anti-Jewish messages were also found in the TCNJ College Republicans GroupMe chat. While the member of the MU College Republicans posted statements targeting Palestinians, they didn’t post any anti-Jewish statements.
One member of the group posted, “That last name is more Jewish than the world bank,” while another said, “Both of the signal writers last names [referring to their Jewish last names] tell me all I need to know,” regarding the two staff members of “The Signal,” who wrote an article about the presidential election in November.
We reached out to the President of MU’s Chabad Jewish Club, Sarina Dadoun, for comments on the anti-Jewish sentiments expressed in the chat. “The antisemitic statements were said in a club GroupMe at a different school that Monmouth members were a part of but was not affiliated with Monmouth University. The member of the club who said them was removed from the club and the GroupMe for making those comments and continually being counterproductive to the conversation,” said Dadoun.
We asked Dadoun if she could provide any evidence of the member’s removal, but no such evidence was provided to the “The Outlook” at the time of this article’s publication.
Dadoun shared that the Chabad Club and MU College Republicans have a good and supportive relationship. “I have had first-hand experience with the Monmouth University College Republicans assisting us with our event where we raised money for the Israeli Defense force after the brutalities that occurred on Oct. 7. We are very thankful and feel very supported by our College Republicans,” said Dadoun.
We also reached out to Yaakov Greenberg, the faculty advisor of the Chabad Jewish Club, but he declined to comment for this article.
In addition to anti-Jewish sentiments expressed in the chat, one TCNJ student used a reference to Christianity to denigrate a PRISM club member. The statement read, “Look, I’m called to love my fellow Christians, but I don’t want to touch those THINGS with a 100 foot pole.”
Connor Graf, who is currently in the process of creating a Christian club on campus, said, “As a Christian man myself, I believe the biggest thing we should do is love all people and pray for all people. I may not believe in one thing, but that doesn’t mean I can judge and condemn someone for it. I think Monmouth is a great University and love is being spread especially during this time. Monmouth is a community where people feel connected. Regardless of differences, people still love each other, and that’s the most important thing,” Graf said.
At Monmouth, following the publication of “The Signal’s” editorial, the MU College Democrats hosted two meetings on Feb. 12 and 13 to discuss the events and support the students who felt affected by these GroupMe comments.
Owen Bros, President of the College Democrats, said, “We hosted two solidarity meetings because there were so many of my members completely outraged that there were members of the MU Republicans spewing such blatantly homophobic and hateful words, many of whom my members see daily in their classes.” He cited that attendees of these meetings described the hate speech as a betrayal of trust and wondered if the University would take any form of disciplinary action.
Bros concluded, “It is disappointing and frankly sad that what everyone sees on the news has gotten down to the level of students, but to be even more frank, I am not surprised. We have one of the absolute worst people in office, character-wise, and his actions and words will only embolden people to do the same. In other words, if the President says homophobic things, then it must be okay for ordinary Americans to do it too. That simply cannot be tolerated anymore. We are moving backward as a society if college students cannot even love each other as human beings.”
At TCNJ, the community at large, while shaken by the reveal of the hateful messages shared on TCNJ’s College Republicans GroupMe chat, has banded together to denounce this kind of hateful speech, and started the process of healing.
“The response has been very uplifting,” Weisenbach stated regarding “The Signal” editorial article. “I think a lot of people in the TCNJ community were surprised and taken aback by the things that were said in the group chat, and so it seems many people are coming together to denounce that kind of behavior and to support those who were targeted by the hateful comments…I hope that people understand that hate has no place in our community, and we should all do our part to stop it whenever we can. It’s also extremely important that we don’t fight hate with hate, but rather by calling it out and uplifting those who are most affected by it.”
