It is important to point out that Mr. Weinstein was within his rights to question how these initiatives were structured. But his critiques seemed to diminish the very purpose of them. Students wanted him to understand why these initiatives were so important to so many in our community.

What can’t be seen in the viral video of the student protest in his office is that students started by calmly stating their concerns. The way he responded to those concerns made students feel invalidated. It may have seemed inappropriate that they let their emotions escalate in frustration, but that doesn’t mean there was no context.

But the media saw in Mr. Weinstein a self-proclaimed progressive who appeared to be vilified simply for voicing a dissenting opinion. Evergreen students were accused of violence and of trying to enforce a divisive political correctness.

The fallout from that coverage hit our campus like a hailstorm. It may not have been his intention, but Mr. Weinstein’s many interviews effectively became a call to arms for internet trolls and the alt-right. Online vigilantes from 4chan, Reddit and other forums swarmed to unearth Evergreen students’ contact information. They have harassed us with hundreds of phone calls, anonymous texts and terrifyingly specific threats of violence that show they know where we live and work.

After I published an essay on Medium to explain the protesters’ side of the story, my full name, phone number and home address were posted online, and I was bombarded with hate-filled messages. I found my name and personal information on message boards, along with rape threats and discussions about which racial slur fit me best (the consensus was the N-word). It took three days to get my personal information taken down, and for others it took longer.

In the past few weeks, the school has been shut down four times because of threats, including one from an anonymous caller who said, “I’m on my way to Evergreen University now with a .44 Magnum. I am gonna execute as many people on that campus as I can get a hold of.”

Downtown Olympia has seen a sudden influx of visitors wearing Nazi and white supremacist regalia. Campus buildings have been scrawled with graffiti that says, “Diversity Equals White Genocide” and “No Safe Space For Commies.” Swastikas and racial slurs have been chalked and painted on Evergreen property.