SALT LAKE CITY — Former Breitbart News editor Ben Shapiro is coming to speak at the University of Utah on Wednesday, and many students are divided on how the university should handle his appearance.

Some student groups called on university officials to cancel the speech, while others applauded the university's decision to defend freedom of speech.

As Shapiro's appearance at the U. is sponsored by a registered student organization and meets all the required event criteria, University of Utah President David Pershing said the university will allow the controversial event.

"We are deeply committed to equity, inclusion and diversity at the University of Utah and we strive to foster an environment of respect," he wrote in an open letter. "These values are essential to our institution and to our collective common good, and I remain dedicated to our many efforts to ensure our university is welcoming and safe for all."

To encourage civil discussion on the differences about free speech and hate speech, the Lowell Bennion Community Service Center and the Hinckley Institute of Politics sponsored a "pizza and politics" forum titled "Free Speech at What Cost?" on Monday.

Almost 80 students and faculty attended the on-campus forum, which included Lori McDonald, U. dean of students; Nicole Robinson, assistant vice president for equity and diversity; Boyd Ferguson, senior attorney at the Salt Lake City Attorney's Office; and David Reymann, attorney with Parr Brown Gee and Loveless, as panelists

Students asked questions about the upcoming conservative speaker and the university's actions to uphold the event.

"For many people, Ben Shapiro will come, and you’ll go or not go, you’ll listen or not listen. But the next day, you get up and you move forward," Robinson said. "But for a lot of students, they’re very concerned about what they call the 'aftermath' of Shapiro’s speech."

As a conservative political commentator, columnist, author, radio talk show host and attorney, Shapiro has shared past opinions sometimes labeled as hate speech.

But the university has an obligation to support all students, Robinson continued, both those sponsoring the speech and the students who feel threatened by Shapiro's words.

"I’m concerned that the different viewpoints are creating this ripping effect in our society, but I don’t want that to happen on our campus," she said. "We do not want a Berkeley incident, nor a Charlottesville incident here at the University of Utah. That’s our No. 1 goal."

And "there is a whole lot of hate speech protected by the First Amendment," Reymann said.

"The First Amendment protects both the speaker and the right of a listener to receive ideas," he explained at the forum. "Constitutionally, the only type of hate speech prohibited is hate speech that is likely to incite imminent lawlessness."

Christina Giardinelli, a junior majoring in international studies, said though she is "absolutely not" attending the speech, she was interested in the forum's discussion.

"I think (Shapiro's event) is protected under freedom of speech. Well, I don’t think, I know it’s protected under the First Amendment," she said. "I’m not super enthusiastic about his views, but at the same time, I can respect that other people are."

Shapiro will address "leftist myths of white privilege, trigger warnings, micro-aggressions and diversity," according to a Facebook event description from Young Americans for Freedom, the student chapter hosting the event.

Some of the university's safety concerns stem from an earlier clash between far-left and far-right students when Shapiro spoke at the University of California-Berkeley campus on Sept. 14.

Related:

Writer's upcoming U. visit raises 'more concerns' after Berkeley protests, arrests

The University of Utah's preparations for a planned Sept. 27 appearance by conservative writer Ben Shapiro took on added urgency after hundreds of protesters swarmed the UC-Berkeley campus Thursday night during Shapiro's visit there.

Hundreds of protesters swarmed the campus, and nine people were arrested, four for carrying banned weapons, according to the Los Angeles Times. The university spent nearly $600,000 on security, the newspaper reported, although no major skirmishes were reported aside from shouting matches.

"I don’t think we can easily discount what someone’s definition of safety is based on my privilege of what safety means to me," McDonald told students Monday, adding that the university is still working on finding the right way to balance supporting free speech and assuring protection for students.

The university's counseling center is hosting discussions for students before and after Wednesday's speech. The university also released campus guidelines for those interested in attending or protesting the event.

Besides declaring that picketing must be orderly and not prevent entrance to the venue or disrupt classes, the group sponsoring Shapiro also is banning backpacks, bags or purses, sticks, umbrellas, monopods/tripods and laser pointers, among other things, from the venue.

The area around the event will be blocked off "to facilitate orderly access," the U. website notes.

"Hearing hateful words and understanding what we stand for at the University of Utah leads many of you to ask what I will do to stop it," Pershing wrote in his statement. "The answer is not an easy one: As much as I may disagree with what is being said, the Constitution does not permit me to regulate what can and cannot be said, even when there is speech I abhor. But make no mistake: By permitting free expression, we are not endorsing any particular speaker or viewpoint."

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