Many college students have a fickle relationship with free speech — they want their own expression to remain unfettered, but will often vehemently oppose conservative speakers on campus.
The latest institute of higher education to get caught up in a free speech fracas is UMass Dartmouth. As the Boston Herald’s Rick Sobey reported, a national group that defends free speech and the First Amendment slammed the school for its “unconstitutional free speech zone.”
It’s an 8,835-square-foot space,“in the direct center of the campus quad, allowing clear sightlines to those in the Campus Center, College of Visual and Performing Arts Building and Administration Building,” according to a university spokesman.
Many colleges across the country have had the zones — and many are ditching them. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education wants UMass Dartmouth to do the same.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed an amicus brief in a legal challenge to Arkansas State University’s “Free Expression Areas” policy, and says such rules violate the First Amendment.
According the the ACLU’s blog, “The First Amendment firmly protects speech in public areas such as streets and parks. This is just as true on the campuses of public colleges — and for good reason …
” ‘Free Expression Areas’ are not a thing under the Constitution — all public spaces in America are free-expression areas.”
Why would a college have a “free speech zone”? A UMass Dartmouth spokesman said in a statement, “The intent of the policy is to provide protesters with a safe, high visibility location that does not unlawfully impede the education of students or the business of the university while creating open communication between protesters and the institution should another location be preferred.”
No dice, said the group opposing the zone.
“These are not reasonable restrictions at UMass Dartmouth,” Laura Beltz of FIRE told the Herald Thursday. “And even if the policy isn’t actually being enforced, it still can have a chilling effect on students who could be discouraged from going out and expressing themselves.”
The university could face lawsuits if it doesn’t “eliminate its unconstitutional free speech zone policy,” Beltz added.
Fear of lawsuits, or just or the wish to hew tightly to students’ First Amendment rights, may be why other schools have already done away with the zones.
Why then, is it OK for students themselves to have a chilling effect on conservative speakers who wish to express themselves on campus?
The list of “canceled” conservatives grows, but among the most notable is Ben Shapiro, editor in chief of DailyWire.com, who was invited to address a group at Cal State Los Angeles in 2016. Shapiro was told his appearance was canceled because students were concerned he would promote “racist, classist, misogynist, sexist, homophobic” attitudes.
Students at Elon University tried to give Pulitzer-winning writer Kathleen Parker the bum’s rush as well in 2016, petitioning the school “desperately asking our faculty and staff allies to aid us in removing Parker and stopping her from spreading her dangerous rhetoric through the school we love and cherish.” Students didn’t like her column linking alcohol and sexual assault, and her book “Save the Males.”
The UMass Dartmouth spokesman said the university will be examining its policy.
One can only hope that, if lifted, the campus’ unencumbered free speech will encompass all points of view.
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December 14, 2019 at 12:14PM
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Campus free speech – for everyone - Boston Herald
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