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Freedom of speech in colleges
Freedom of speech in colleges
Freedom of speech in colleges
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Other court rulings show further expansion on how much free speech is protected on campus. The 1973 court case Papish v. Board of Curators of University of Missouri demonstrates this in regards to vulgar language. A student had distributed a newspaper that contained obscene language and was expelled for it. The court ruled in the students favor and demonstrated that “the mere dissemination of ideas-no matter how offensive to good taste-on a state university campus may not be shut off in the name alone of ‘conventions of decency” (Papish v. Board of Curators of University of Missouri). It is clear that the legal system’s stance on free speech in campus is firm in that your first amendment right should not be infringed based on what other people …show more content…
Therefore, campuses should not be looking for ways to restrict hate speech in ways that restrict free speech since it will not hold up well in court. However, if every campus were to stop all attempts at finding a solution against hate speech, many people would be at disarray. Instead, a solution that doesn’t involve restricting speech is needed.Other court rulings show further expansion on how much free speech is protected on campus. The 1973 court case Papish v. Board of Curators of University of Missouri demonstrates this in regards to vulgar language. A student had distributed a newspaper that contained obscene language and was expelled for it. The court ruled in the students favor and demonstrated that “the mere dissemination of ideas-no matter how offensive to good taste-on a state university campus may not be shut off in the name alone of ‘conventions of decency” (Papish v. Board of Curators of University of Missouri). It is clear that the legal system’s stance on free speech in campus is firm in that your first amendment right should not be infringed based on what other people find offensive or
Lawrence’s reasons, “Carefully drafted university regulations would bar the use of words as assault weapons…”(67). The education system holds primarily the younger generations who one day will run this country. We want to encourage a nation that sticks to the values that are expected and continue to have an integrated society. I agree with Lawrence that regulations need to be added, but why stop at just the education system? If an enforcement is going to be made on what can be said verbally through hate speech in one area, I believe that it should be present in all aspects such as the work field, public places, and media. There is not a way to make a strong government ban on the use of every form of hate speech but if larger industries start declaring it unacceptable it will set an example for society to follow. No one should feel as if they do not belong in a certain area or place due to their ethnicity or race. The most current situation could be Americans discriminating against Muslims and relating them to ISIS, this may not seem like segregation but it is discriminating and separating someone due to assumptions about them due to their background that they cannot change. Slowly but surely, if one American steps up and takes action our nation has the power to change hate speech forever and encourage a peaceful
In the world today, Freedom of Speech is taken to a different level than what one may imply verbally. With social media, political debates, and the outpour of sexual orientation the First Amendment is exercised in its full capacity. Protecting Freedom of Expression on the campus is an article written by Derek Bok expressing his concerns regarding the display of a confederate flag hung from a window on the campus of Harvard University. The Confederate flag to some is a symbol of slavery and to others it is a symbol of war, or perhaps known as the “Battle Flag”. In this paper one will review Bok’s opinion of the First Amendment, clarity of free speech in private versus public institutions and the actions behind the importance of ignoring or prohibiting such communications according to the First Amendment.
"Protecting Freedom of Expression on the Campus” by Derek Bok, published in Boston Globe in 1991, is an essay about what we should do when we are faced with expressions that are offensive to some people. The author discusses that although the First Amendment may protect our speech, but that does not mean it protects our speech if we use it immorally and inappropriately. The author claims that when people do things such as hanging the Confederate flag, “they would upset many fellow students and ignore the decent regard for the feelings of others” (70). The author discusses how this issue has approached Supreme Court and how the Supreme Court backs up the First Amendment and if it offends any groups, it does not affect the fact that everyone has his or her own freedom of speech. The author discusses how censorship may not be the way to go, because it might bring unwanted attention that would only make more devastating situations. The author believes the best solutions to these kind of situations would be to
In this case, the court ruled that the administrators of schools can edit the content of school newspapers. This court case is just one of the many examples of how the schools are able to sway and control what their students say and what they see, which makes a big impact on the First Amendment rights of all the students who read and who have to write the newspaper. Another case that supports the research question is Bethel School District #43 v. Fraser, 1987. This case specifically points out that students do not have the rights to make obscene speeches in school.
Hate crimes are done too frequently in the United States. Although we have laws that supposedly regulate them, many people still feel the need to commit acts of violence on people that are different than them. Many of these crimes originate with some sort of hate speech. People get ideas from other people, passed down from previous generations.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom; and no such thing as public liberty, without freedom of speech.” Indeed, free speech is a large block upon which this nation was first constructed, and remains a hard staple of America today; and in few places is that freedom more often utilized than on a college campus. However, there are limitations to our constitutional liberties on campus and they, most frequently, manifest themselves in the form of free speech zones, hate speech and poor university policy. Most school codes are designed to protect students, protect educators and to promote a stable, non-disruptive and non-threatening learning environment. However, students’ verbal freedom becomes limited via “free speech zones.” Free Speech Zones are areas allocated for the purpose of free speech on campus. These zones bypass our constitutional right to freedom of speech by dictating where and when something can be said, but not what can be said.
Charles R. Lawrence III adresses the matter in his essay “The Debate over Placing Limits on Racist Speech Must Not Ignore the Damage It Does to Its Victims,” by providing the perspective of those on the reciving end. He explains that “racial slurs are particularly undeserving of First Amendment protection because the perpetuator’s intention is not to discover truth or initiate dialoge, but to injure the victim” (628). This argument is justified because some people do take their freedom of speech as far as offending someone because of their race, cultural, and social beliefs. As Cinnamon Stillwell proved in her essay, “Mob Rule on College Campuses,” some students do become bullies when their beliefs are challenged. Stillwell illistrates a situation that occurred at Columbia University when conservative Jim Gilchrist was invited to speak but was unable to because rioting students did not allow him. Stillwell then goes on to say that “Apparently in their minds, niether Gilchrist nor anyone else with whom they disagree has the right to express their viewpoints” (623). This can be applied to both sides because both of them seem to believe that the opposing belief has no right to speak especially when it is controversial. Lawrence mentions that “whenever we decide that racist speech must be tolerated because of the
In the United States, free speech is protected by the First Amendment in which it states, “Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion … or abridging the freedom of speech.” Now, nearly 250 years into the future, the exact thing that the Founding Fathers were afraid of is starting to happen. Today, our freedom of speech is being threatened through different forces, such as the tyranny of the majority, the protection of the minority, and the stability of the society. Now, colleges and universities in the United States today are also trying to institute a code upon its students that would bar them from exercising their right to speak freely in the name of protecting minorities from getting bullied. This brings us into
Even though many believe hate speech is designed to put down people, hate speech should not be regulated or restricted because it is virtually impossible to control tensions between people by preventing them from speaking their true opinions, without violating the First Amendment.
A hate crime is a crime motivated by several reasons that include religion, sexual orientation, race, nationality, gender etc. It typically involves physical violence, intimidation, threats and other means against the individual that is being targeted. It is a crime against the person and it can have a devastating impact on the victim. Several argue that hate crimes should be punished more severely. However, it is not a crime to hate someone or something if it does not lead to some sort of criminal offense.
It is even more difficult to regulate this in the classroom. If students are sheltered while in college they lack the valuable exposure to different ideas that will help them later in life to work with people they do not necessarily agree with. When teachers are forced to use trigger warning and discouraged from using material that may trigger students the academic integrity of the system is threatened. If students are never forced to face their fears or read about discrimination, learning about controversial issues is nearly impossible. In the adult world, you cannot avoid topics that make you uncomfortable, and by learning to confront this in college, students would be better prepared for the real world. Speech codes at colleges need to be reevaluated and loosed to allow teachers and fellow students the challenge beliefs and debate tough issues. While allowing more freedom, colleges also have the moral obligation to prevent hate speech and discrimination, just not in a way that focuses microaggressions and forces students to watch everything they
It was October 6, 1998 when he was lured from the bar that cold, fateful night. His skull was smashed with a pistol butt as he was lashed to a fence, left for dead in near freezing temperatures. Nearly eighteen hours later he was found by passersby and taken to a hospital where he remained in a coma for several days until slowly slipping away. At his funeral, picketers carried signs saying, "God Hates Fags" and "Fags Deserve to Die."
This is an example of the correlation hate speech has with being led into acts of violence. Another argument against hate speech is that it is cancerous in nature, and will spread. Solveig Horne, the Minister of Children and Equality in Norway states, Throughout the internet, hate speech is being spread, causing widespread bullying of minorities - such as LGBTQ+ kids. This shows that free speech is the singular buffer for the hate speech to spread. Free speech is important to keep to protect the minority from the majority. This is because, without free speech, beliefs that go against the status quo could be seen as unreasonable. Jay Stanley, the Senior Policy Analyst at ACLU, says, This is seen in the 1960s with civil rights ending segregation, and without free speech, these ideas would have been seen as a disgrace and quickly shunned. This shows how in the past free speech helped people with major civil rights cases. The other point is that by censoring free speech, it won't stop hate speech at all and people will find other ways to spread the speech. Becca DiPietro, editor for the
Can you imagine any American having the temerity to think they have a right to be critical of the Islamic religion, or of muslim terrorism. The outstanding conservative intellectual William F. Buckley once said, “Liberals claim to want to give a hearing to other views, but then are shocked and offended to discover that there are other views.” Any politically active college student should be familiar with this sentiment. Liberals preach inclusivity and diversity of all kinds, but not the diversity of thought. Opposing views are problematic wrong-thoughts that need to be ignored, or, better yet, purged. Liberals often claim that this is a misrepresentation of their views, and that they only care about banning “hate speech” and other forms of
One instance of free speech controversy was when a fraternity member of the University Of Maryland had an email leaked of which he said very derogatory and racist remarks about women and shaming them on their appearance. When this email was leaked it created a widespread of controversy and anger among the country. The difficult part in this was that by popular opinion many would want to expel the student who wrote that email but lawyers suggest that by doing so would violate the student 's constitutional rights to freedom of expression. The problem with labeling this kind of behavior as hate speech and trying to suppress vulgar language is no matter how vile the language is it is protected under the first amendment of the constitution. Universities have come together in trying to diffuse this kind of behavior by adding codes of conduct that prohibit certain forms of speech from being permitted on campus. These initiatives have been challenged by civil liberty groups who feel that by prohibiting certain forms of speech the universities are restricting students on their first amendment rights and has to be cautious on what they say as one minor joke could be taken the wrong