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 fifth session was “Non-legal responses to hate speech on college & university campuses.” The panelists were Alex Amend, an independent researcher of the far-right and former research director at the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project; Deb Mashek, Heterodox Academy Executive Director; and Glyn Hughes, University of Richmond, Director of Common Ground.

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.