Hate Speech: Related Ideas

Related Ideas
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In developing a rationale for a speech code, as with any policy, it is important to ask what the code is intended to accomplish and how one might determine whether it has done so. If, for example, the code is based on the assumption that hate speech creates a hostile environment for black students and interferes with the main educational goal of the university, how might we decide whether it is successful? If the code works, we might expect some improvement in the work done by black students. We might look at the following indicators:

the number of incidents of hate speech before and after the code is adopted
the average grade point average for black students before and after the code is adopted
the graduation rate for black students before and after the code is adopted

Attempting to use any of these indicators would raise problems. How does one count "incidents" of hate speech? Are there other factors influencing grades or graduation rates? Even so, it would seem wise to establish some system for determining whether the code works.