Responding to hate speech is difficult because its definition remains unclear. However, the reiterated theme throughout the University of Delaware's conference on free speech was the importance of positive communication. The title of the second session was “Difficulties of Responding to Hate Speech on College and University Campuses.” Panelists were Timothy Shiell, Professor of Philosophy, University of Wisconsin – Stout; Rodney Smolla, Dean of Widener Law School; Samantha Harris, Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and Vice President of Policy Research; and Keith Whittington, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics, Princeton University.

UD's Communication Department hosted "Speech Limits in Public Life: At the Intersection of Free Speech and Hate" on March 14 to 15, 2019. Legal experts and free speech scholars from around the country discussed how to define hate speech and respond to it both digitally and on college campuses. Read more about the conference at www.cpc.udel.edu/news/Pages/the-speech-divide.aspx.