ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Amid the cultural amplification of Donald Trump’s brand of belittling speech, college campuses are wrestling with how to respond to emboldened acts of expressive racism.

During the first weeks of classes here at the University of Michigan, where I am a professor, unknown perpetrators spray-painted an iconic boulder on campus with graphic slurs against Latinos, along with the pro-Trump acronym MAGA (Make America Great Again); others defaced the name tags on the dorm-room doors of three African-American students with pejorative comments, including that most visceral of anti-black insults; and still others posted fliers proclaiming “Free Dylann Roof!” championing the man convicted of the murder of nine black church congregants in Charleston, S.C. When students circulated photos of the defaced name tags via social media and The Michigan Daily newspaper, faculty members and students voiced an urgent need for statements denouncing the hate speech.

I joined with colleagues on our department’s “racial climate task force” to produce a proclamation overnight. As we were editing our statement that evening, another colleague shared the document cranked out by her own program in response to the incident. The next day, the equity and inclusion committee of one of the largest departments in the college issued its statement. Meanwhile, student protesters pressed the university president for an official statement beyond his initial tweet.

Soon after, faculty members across the university proposed a new action group whose mission would include issuing collective statements. All told, university personnel spent hours and days drawing up sentences to proclaim principles that should be obvious. We abhor racism. We believe in the dignity of all human beings. Students of color belong on this campus.