Hundreds packed the student union at SUNY Rockland Community College Tuesday for a sometimes heated debate on the use of the ?N? word.

Many attendees said the word is cultural, not racial. They said they don?t see the ?N? word as necessarily negative. However, many disagreed and cited the history of the ?N? word. Those against using the word said young people are selfish because they have not taken into account everything the generations before them went through.

The open discussion didn't reach conclusions but allowed students and others to voice their opinions. The college hosted the panel discussion because the ?N? word was recently used at some campus events.

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