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Free speech on college campuses
Free speech on college campuses
Free speech on college campuses
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In the article, Protecting Freedom of Expression on the Campus by Derek Bok published in 1991, expresses how the university of Harvard struggles with the freedom of speech and racial slurs. Bok talks about how two students hung a confederate flag in public on Harvard’s campus. Bok explains that the students were upset that the Confederate flags were in plain eyesight. Bok talks about how the flag represents slavery, and a third student tried to protest the flag with displaying a Swastika. However, a great number of students think that it is a symbol of hatred; and others seem to think that it is a symbol of freedom of speech, which is the first Amendment of the United States of America. Bok talks about different universities and how they
~~For many American citizens, a controversial flag such as the Confederate flag flying above a government edifice delivers a great amount of pain. Emett Burns, an African-American involved in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, spoke of his views on the Confederate flag: "It [the flag] says to me 'If I could put you in your place, I would.'" (qtd in Schaiver) The NAACP finds the flag extremely offensive and explained their outlook on it with frustration, saying, "enough is enough." (qtd in Cabell) Mims, an African-American 42 year old disabled paper worker, announced his vista upon the flag: "It is like the Germans and the Jews—they are trying to eliminate us." (qtd in Burritt) A recent legal case concerning the Confederate flag, the Plaintiff argued the fla...
Is the upholding of the American flag as a symbol of the United States more important than the freedom of speech provided by the First Amendment? Are there certain freedoms of expression that are not protected under the First Amendment and if so what qualifies as freedom of speech and expression and what does not? The Supreme Court case of Texas v. Johnson proves that the First Amendment and the freedom of speech are not limited to that of spoken and written word, but also extended to symbolic speech as well. Texas v. Johnson is a case in which the interpretation of the First Amendment rights is at the top of the argument. This case discusses the issue of flag burning as a desecration of national unity and that the flag of the United States should be protected under a law.
The First Amendment of the United States gives citizens the five main rights to freedom. Freedom of speech is one of the rights. If people did not have the freedom of speech there would be no way of expressing one’s self and no way to show individuality between beliefs. This Amendment becomes one of the issues in the Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District Supreme Court case that happened in December of 1969. In the case of Tinker v. Des Moines there were five students that got suspended for wearing armbands to protest the Government’s policy in Vietnam. Wearing these armbands was letting the students express their beliefs peacefully. Many people would consider that the school did not have the authority to suspend these petitioners because of the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution.
From the opening sentence of the essay, “We are free to be you, me, stupid, and dead”, Roger Rosenblatt hones in on a very potent and controversial topic. He notes the fundamental truth that although humans will regularly shield themselves with the omnipresent First Amendment, seldom do we enjoy having the privilege we so readily abuse be used against us. Freedom of speech has been a controversial issue throughout the world. Our ability to say whatever we want is very important to us as individuals and communities. Although freedom of speech and expression may sometimes be offensive to other people, it is still everyone’s right to express his/her opinion under the American constitution which states that “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press”.
“The Confederate Flag: Controversy and Culture.” David Sarratt American Studies University of Virginia. Web. 22 Feb. 2014
The Confederate flag is a famous symbol of the South’s side in the American Civil War. The controversy surrounding this flag has received a great bit of media attention considering how deeply affected and offended some people have become. Southerners consider themselves to be personally affected. A majority of supporters state that banning the Confederate flag strips them of their heritage, referring to the South’s part in the American Civil War. Persons who do not support the continued showing of the Confederate flag, such as non-Southerners, African Americans, and many others say that while the flag is a symbol of southern history, much of the history in the South includes racial segregations, lynchings, and slavery. As a matter of fact, the purpose of the Confederacy in the Civil War was to make sure slavery stayed an institution in America. The man who created the Confederate flag, William T. Thompson, stated this about the symbol of heritage: “As a people we are fighting to maintain the heavenly ordained supremacy of the white man over the inferior or colored race; a white flag would thus be emblematical of our cause” (Miessler par. 3). This alone clearly shows what the goal of the Confederacy
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.
Should the First Amendment stop protecting hate speech? In Derek Bok’s “Protecting Freedom of Expression on the Campus”, he argues that hate speech should be protected as censorship would be against the First Amendment. He declares “One reason why the power of censorship is so dangerous is that it is extremely difficult to decide when a particular communications is offensive enough to warrant prohibition or to weigh the degree is offensiveness against the potential value of communication.... if we were to forbid flags, it is only a short step to prohibiting offensive speakers” (Bok 67) What Bok is attempting to say is that we can technically declare anything as offensive. The idea of hate speech is varying on the opinion of a person rather than law.
"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
This is just down right wrong because it’s unwarranted to give the right to do such a thing to schools and not to government. Thesis Schools have more rights than the government to affect and restrict the 1st Amendment and freedom of speech. Annotated Bibliography Hudson, David L., JR. " First Amendment Center. "
The Civil War was partly about slavery. Therefore, many use the flag as a symbol of hatred towards people of different descent, especially African Americans. The idea that “negro is not equal to the white man,” or white supremacy, has caused many racist attacks (Coates, 2015). Most of these attacks have involved the presence of a Confederate flag. Recently, Dylann Roof committed a gruesome attack on nine African American congregants at their local church during a bible study (Henderson, 2015). He claimed to have been motivated by the Confederate flag. Sadly, this violent attack provides a perfect example of the racism symbolically presented by the Confederate flag.
Abstract Several times in our nation's history, Congress has introduced a bill that would provide for banning flag desecration. Each time, however, the Supreme Court ruled that this act was protected by the First Amendment freedom of speech rights. The debate over this topic continues, with both sides arguing for "the good of the country."
Free speech at public universities and colleges is the most clear and the most contradictory of constitutional pr...
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
Recently a school in Virginia suspended more than twenty students for wearing clothing that had a Confederate flag on it. The school also banned students from having the Confederate flag on their vehicles. The reason theses students were displaying the flag that much was because a fellow classmate had passed away a week or two before. The family made t-shirts and decals in memory of their son. The design was a Confederate flag that had the date that the young man died and under the flag the shirt stated “Heritage not hate.”. A simple design caused this much trouble. The students that were suspended were called racist and prejudice. How could a shirt and decal that was made to remember a loved one be considered racist? The Confederate flag