The ‘words can be violence’ crowd questions if loud noise can damage hearing
College progressives and student activists have told us time and time again that words and even silence can be considered “violence.”
But recently at the Philadelphia-adjacent Swarthmore College, anti-Israel student activists and faculty are miffed about assault charges for actually inflicting physical harm, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
A Swarthmore spokesperson said some staff members had “sought medical treatment for hearing damage” due to activists’ use of a bullhorn “in close proximity.”
The activists also face “endangerment” and/or “infliction of physical harm” charges.
But the student demonstrators and sympathetic faculty claim the charges are just another tactic to suppress their right to speak out against Israel’s actions against Palestinians in Gaza and elsewhere — and they dispute whether the bullhorn could have led to a physical injury.
“It’s pretty preposterous,” said Swarthmore Students for Justice in Palestine’s Adi Chattopadhyay, one of those facing charges. “It’s just about the school exerting as much power as they can and making students feel like they are weak.”
Chattopadhyay also is upset his pending charges prevented him from studying abroad in the spring.
History professor Ahmad Shokr, who researches “the political economy of empire and decolonization,” claimed the activists “did a lot of research” regarding use of the bullhorn: “What they used was ‘advertised as being safe for indoor and outdoor use.’”
Shokr (pictured) added the bullhorn only reaches a maximum of 105 decibels and that it’s “highly unlikely” someone would suffer hearing damage from it.
However, two auditory experts noted in the report say 105 decibels can indeed cause hearing problems.
MORE: Swarthmore pro-Hamas activists reluctantly end longest Philly-area encampment
“A hundred and five decibels is pretty loud, especially if you are in close proximity, and could cause acoustic trauma leading to temporary or permanent hearing loss,” said audiologist Brianna Casey.
Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery professor Samantha Anne added “When you get over 100 decibels, we are talking minutes before it can start damaging your hearing.”
And while Swarthmore’s anti-Israel contingent questioned legitimate damage caused by a bullhorn, English professor Sangina Patnaik noted she was upset a “colleague” hadn’t been disciplined more harshly for allegedly calling her and members of the Students for Justice in Palestine “terrorists.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, which filed a discrimination complaint against Swarthmore in the fall, claimed the university has “suppressed the American tradition of free speech, denied inclusion, and systematically punished peaceful civil disobedience by involving state force and disciplinary measures against those who oppose the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
Swarthmore Vice President for Communications and Marketing Andy Hirsch called CAIR’s charges “mischaracterizations, if not outright false.”
Swarthmore administrators explained to students repeatedly how they could express views within the code of conduct, and only when they refused to comply was discipline initiated, the college said.
In response to allegations of targeting students of color, the college has asserted that the charges had nothing to do with race or identity and were based solely on alleged misconduct.
College officials also argued they were consistent in enforcing policies, noting that several pro-Israel students also faced disciplinary charges last year.
The pro-Palestinian protests are different than some prior protests, such as those for fossil fuel divestment, said Stephanie Ives, vice president for student affairs.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which is headquartered in Philadelphia, said it was looking into what “a reasonable decibel limit” is regarding “amplified sound,” but noted colleges “must have ‘maximum tolerance for even the most controversial expression’ and zero tolerance for violence.”
MORE: Swarthmore activists issue demands, strike against ‘institutional anti-blackness’
IMAGES: Photographeedoteu/Shutterstock; Swarthmore College
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