NIU is quickly joining the ranks of colleges getting drawn into the fracas about words and which ones are slurs.

A tough spot to be in and an equally tough spot to stay out of.

The Northern Star printed “nigger”, “Jew” and “faggot” in its top story Wednesday. The editors decided to use the controversial language because, unfortunately, there are those who truly harbor such neanderthal notions that accompany the stereotypes.

But there are others that use such language without bad intentions and without regard to its effect on others.

Both instances are portraits of America and the different nationalities that make up the country.

Balancing the effect of words with the intentions is the bubble NIU is being pushed into.

The issue was sparked last week when some students in Neptune Hall plastered a sign which read “kill a faggot” on a window. NIU’s Judicial Office is scrutinizing the incident now and hasn’t decided if charges will be filed against those responsible.

How does one decide if a phrase was uttered with intent to hurt or simply without thinking? How do you measure how bad a word hurts? Because most of the cases that have popped up deal with racial or ethnic slurs, can members of the same race or ethnicity hurl slurs at each other?

That’s what NIU and hosts of other colleges are dealing with now. It’s like walking on eggshells because it deals with speech and there hasn’t been a lot of examples to base judgments on.

Everyone has used the argument before: This is America and the Constitution guarantees freedom of speech. In doing so, everyone realizes that there are certain words and phrases that people shouldn’t use, even in heated arguments with a hated nemesis.

But it’s a fine line. There isn’t any law against being stupid, rude, ignorant or obnoxious. But people can get in trouble for yelling fire in a crowded theater or publicly hinting that a certain someone isn’t entirely wholesome.

Restraints on what can be said are guided by Supreme Court decisions. There will always be disagreements about those decisions. There will also be disagreements about how bad words actually hurt, if at all, and if uttering a few words is enough to land someone in trouble.

To be sure, students and college administrators here and elsewhere are tiptoeing through a mine field. Nobody wants to abridge free speech. At the same time, nobody wants to give anyone the freedom to willingly hurt others.

And no matter the decision, the problem will not be solved but only masked beneath regulations, that won’t always be enforced or enforceable.

Getting people to understand the effect words have on others, especially words that create such emotion, will take time, education and cooperation.

It is a double-edged sword. One that will be here for a long time. People need to go into the discussions with open minds and a lot of patience and flexibility.