Date of Award

Fall 12-15-2023

Level of Access Assigned by Author

Open-Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Interdisciplinary Program

Advisor

Julie DellaMattera

Second Committee Member

Justine Andreu-Darling

Third Committee Member

Idella Glen

Additional Committee Members

Daren J. Ranco

Vanessa Klein

Abstract

This study examined one instance of College Republicans sharing harmful rhetoric that aligns with the white power movement (WPM). Through a restorative justice (RJ) framework, the College Republican’s rhetoric was found to be harmful to the University of Maine community. In this study, the University of Maine relied exclusively on legal approaches that disenfranchised those involved in the harm as well as the larger community. Ultimately, reliance on a legal approach ignored the needs of those harmed. The legal approach to harm often fixates on policies and laws that wait for harm to happen rather than the restorative justice approach, which aims to prevent harm in the first place. In this study, I found that the College Republicans’ rhetoric aligns with the white power movement (WPM), and it harmed the campus community. Additionally, I found that the University of Maine was limited by the legal approach, which left them disempowered to stop the harm or meet the needs of those affected.

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