On October 20, Bridgewater College hosted PEN America for a discussion about the importance of free speech, as part of the college’s efforts to support civic pluralism on campus. WMRA’s Meredith McCool reports.
Nearly a year ago, the peaceful collegiate atmosphere was disturbed when demonstrators gathered on the sidewalk outside Memorial Hall. As BCVoice previously reported, on December 4, 2025, five members of Key of David Christian Church based in Pennsylvania chanted and displayed signs attacking various community groups.
LESLIE FRERE: You had this external organization coming in, and what was weirdly uniting about them was that they were sort of an equal opportunity hate organization.
Leslie Frere, who holds a doctorate in counseling psychology, is the vice president for student life and dean of students at Bridgewater College.
FRERE: They hated everybody, so I mean, blessing and a curse. Everyone was insulted in some way, but everyone was insulted. So everyone was clear about not wanting them here. … For our students who feel, in a lot of ways, very cocooned, it felt like basically somebody came into your backyard and started spewing awfulness, and it felt like, “why are you allowed to be here on my campus, in my home?”
Inside Bridgewater’s Kline Campus Center last week, I sat down with student leaders Angel Humphrey and Josie Wilson. I asked them about their experiences with last December’s demonstration. Sophomore Josie Wilson speaks first.
JOSIE WILSON: We were actually both doing Journey of the Lights. I, as a participant, and –
ANGEL HUMPHREY: I was helping one of my friends host a room there because I'm part of the spiritual life board, so we help out during that event.
The Journey of Lights is –
HUMPRHEY: An opportunity for students who are in different clubs or even have their own cultural or religious experiences that they get to showcase in rooms about specific winter holidays such as Lunar New Year, Box Day, Tahar in Nepal and other parts of South Asia, and numerous other clubs. So it was really interesting to have a protest like that at the same exact time where we're celebrating culture on campus and differences in international students. It was yes, it was a moment.
When we talked, Humphrey and Wilson had just completed a workshop with PEN America, a nonpartisan organization with a mission to protect free expression. Their workshop for student leaders focused on the limits and responsibilities of free speech, and when and how they should intervene when they are witnesses to hate speech. The workshop was part of the college’s ongoing efforts to support civic pluralism on campus.
Heather Cole is the editor and director of media relations at Bridgewater College. She said that civic pluralism is –
HEATHER COLE: The idea that you don't need to come to a consensus, you don't need to agree, but you need to understand that you're in community.
And then find commonalities.
FRERE: I think that our students, not dissimilar to college students across the nation, are very hesitant to engage in anything that might feel like conflict.
That’s Leslie Frere again.
FRERE: That could be something as simple as, my roommate came into their room at three o'clock in the morning and turned on the lights, and I was annoyed, but I didn't tell them I was annoyed. Like that can feel like conflict for them. What we started last year actually with our pluralism work … where we trained our student leaders to then do work with our first year students the first three days they were on campus, and it was specifically about deepening empathy and understanding that everybody has a different perspective on, fill in the blank of whatever the thing is. … We saw some really clear results as a result of that, just that, which was reduced roommate conflicts in first-year students more so than every other cohort. It was amazing.
When outside agitators arrived on campus right before finals, the student life office recognized the opportunity to help student leaders extend their civic pluralism training to the broader community.
FRERE: I think for some of them it was shocking to hear. Yes, they could absolutely be there, and this is why. These are the parameters, and they know what they are. … But what was very surprising to a handful of those students was, there are probably some people on our campus who actually agree with those people, who feel the same way. … And our job as student leaders, in particular, is to recognize that not everybody thinks the same way, and to invite people in, regardless of where they are, so that you can develop the empathy and the understanding, and maybe again engage in that conversation.
I asked Angel Humphrey and Josie Wilson –
McCOOL: Thinking about that event, how would you respond to it now, knowing what you know?
WILSON: We talked a lot about in our training that people are allowed to have their own opinions. Opinions are protected as long as they're not inherent threats. … People are allowed to say what they want to do, protest or put on demonstrations the way they want to do, as long as they like fall within legal guidelines. We talked about choosing to engage. Like, if I wanted to have a conversation to understand the different sides or to just interact and see where all of these other people are coming from, those demonstrating, I can choose to do that and maybe share my own opinion or sides on things, or I can choose to take a step back, disengage, go about my day.
As we finished our conversation, we asked the students where home is for each of them.
WILSON: I'm from Chesapeake, Virginia.
HUMPHREY: I'm also from Chesapeake, Virginia!
WILSON: Oh shoot!
HUMPHREY: Wait!
Sometimes, commonalities are closer than you think.
