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Importance of freedom of speech on campus
Essay on freedom of speech on campus
Essay on free speech on college campus
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The First Amendment or as it’s more commonly called the right to free speech. Free speech also counts as freedom of press, the right to practice any religion, and to associate ourselves with any group. The limitations to these rights however are highly debated. College campuses have helped to redefine what freedom of speech and its limits. As colleges become more diverse they must promote an environment where student expression is encouraged but also maintain a safe learning environment for all students and faculty. Since public colleges are both state and federal funded institutions, they act as publicly open forms which are very few limitations to free speech. The limitations however on one's freedom to speech usually end where another begins
On the other hand, students have the right to speak out for what they believe in without having any interference; they have the right to voice their opinion. This protection is all due to the first amendment protection. The first amendment protects the students and also the teachers’ freedom of speech, that includes during and out of school. With the protection of the first amendment no person is able to violate your right to freedom of speech. Any pers...
"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 the first amendment, it is stated that all people have the Freedom of speech, religion,
Hall, K. (2002, September 13). Free speech on public college campuses overview. Retrieved from http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/free-speech-on-public-college-campuses
Since this country was founded, we have had a set of unalienable rights that our constitution guarantees us to as Americans. One of the most important rights that is mentioned in our constitution is the right to free speech. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the
And even though the First Amendment grants us the freedom of speech, including such hate speech, there are limits. The federal and all state governments, including public colleges and universities and private schools that accept federal financial aid, cannot unnecessarily regulate speech, with the following exceptions: “obscenity, figh...
In recent years, a rise in verbal abuse and violence directed at people of color, lesbians, and gay men, and other historically persecuted groups has plagued the United States. Among the settings of these expressions of intolerance are college and university campuses, where bias incidents have occurred sporadically since the mid-1980's. Outrage, indignation and demands for change are the responses to these incidents - understandably, given the lack of racial and social diversity among students, faculty and administrators on most campuses. Many universities, under pressure to respond to the concerns of those who are the objects of hate, have adopted codes or olicies prhibiting speech that offends any group based on race gender, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. That's the wrong response, well-meaning or not. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution protects speech no matter how offensive its content.
This occurs even when the regulations arent enforced souly because they fear being punished for what they may say. As shown in Silverglate and Lukianoffs essay, some campuses go to great extents when giving students permission to give free speeches. They claim that “as long as the policy exists, the threat of enfocement remains real and will inevitably influence some peoples speech” (636). This is a valid argument because they then proceed by saying that The First Amendment calls it a clinging effect. Another effect of these regulations would be that colleges are teaching their students that their opinions and beliefs should not be shared when they are even slightly controversial. Wasserman argues that word choice is an “essential component of free-speech protection”(640) because they allow one to express him or herself
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
College campuses have always been the sites where students can express their opinions without fear. There have been many debates about the merits of allowing free speech on campus. Some students and faculties support allowing free speech on campus, while others believe that colleges should restrict free speech to make the college’s environment safer for every student. Free speeches are endangered on college campuses because of trigger warning, increasing policing of free speech, and the hypersensitivity of college students.
The first amendment is a right that all citizens of the United States has which allows us to speak out our minds, lets us put our opinion on things that we disagree on. There have been many incidents on college campuses where students have used their right of free speech to speak out their opinion but have had faced backlash and some other students have used it to show what they believe in this including for example a confederate flag which is associated with something that the majority of citizens disagree with. In this article written by Lawrence he discusses a problem that we are facing on college campuses. Lawrence being a lawyer and an activist stands strong with the first amendment and believes strongly that everyone can speak out their minds, but he states that there should be a limitation to it. There is a difference between having a disagreement and having a
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.
In his article, “Feigning Free Speech on Campus,” attorney, Greg Lukianoff wrongly claims that colleges are depriving students of their constitutional right to free speech by enforcing speech codes. By focusing on constitutional rights, Lukianoff overlooks the danger of intolerance.
Last, because of censorship, freedom of speech on campus should not be limited. According to the Constitution, it is unconstitutional when the government uses censorship because censorship is speech which has been censored. For instance, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, Sara Hebel, “public-college officials in California would be strictly limited in their ability to censor the content of student-run newspapers under proposed legislation that passed the State Assembly this month” (Hebel A28). Hebel explains that “college students are worried that the bill will allow campus administrators to infringe new limits on what students say” (Hebel A28). Hebei reflects that universities should not limit what students can or cannot say in a newspaper.
We as students have many rights at school, a lot of these rights protect us from school rules and punishments. One of these rights is the first amendment right, which is freedom of speech. Freedom of speech includes the right not to speak or respond, maybe to a teacher or administrator, it also gives you the right to use offensive words and phrases if conveying a political message. This amendment also overlaps into dress code giving us the right to express ourselves, especially about a political opinion.