Boulder – The City Council here late Tuesday agreed to provide $16,000 for a trial run of an anti-hate hotline as a way to curb bias-related incidents in the city.
The hotline, which would start as a six-month pilot project, will give Boulder leaders an idea of what kind of hate-related incidents are occurring in the city and provide a voice to underrepresented minority groups in Boulder, supporters said.
“I think the symbolism, the principle and the statement we are making with this hotline is too valuable to lose sight of,” Councilwoman Robin Bohannan said in supporting the hotline.
The hotline, which the council approved 7-2, would give people who feel they are victims of discrimination or harassment that does not rise to the level of a crime a place to report the incidents.
It was not without its detractors.
One woman who addressed the Council said she feared the hotline could turn into a “snitch” line.
Judd Golden, the chairman of the Boulder chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the hotline could chill free speech because it asks residents to report things that aren’t illegal.
“To tell the community that you should report things that aren’t unlawful but just offend you is not the proper role of government,” Golden said. “… We need to protect free expression, even offensive speech, so that all speech is protected.”
City Council members said personal information should not be collected on the hotline to minimize civil liberties concerns.
The hotline was one of Boulder’s Human Relations Commission’s responses to a growing worry about intolerance in Boulder. Those concerns reached their apex last summer when a black University of Colorado student was assaulted by a man who allegedly yelled racial epithets at him.
Susan Levy, a member of the anti-hate group Boulder Community United, said the hotline is a step forward for the city.
“The hotline was never intended to quash speech,” she said. “Instead it was intended to give voice to those who don’t feel like they have one right now.”
Staff writer John Ingold can be reached at 720-929-0898 or jingold@denverpost.com.
