Speech On Freedom Of Speech

Freedom of speech is a fundamental American freedom and a human right, and there’s no place that this right should be more valued and protected than in colleges and universities. A college exists to educate and to advance a student 's knowledge. Colleges do so by acting as a “marketplace of ideas” where ideas compete. It is important to be able to compare your ideas with everyone else as it helps to open your mind to other people’s views and can give you a different perception on things. In the article “The Coddling of the American Mind,” Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukiankoff talked about how too many college students engage in “catastrophizing," which is in short, the overreaction to something. They also said that “smart people do, in fact, overreact to innocuous speech, make mountains out of molehills, and seek punishment for anyone whose words make anyone else feel uncomfortable.”(Haidt) Many colleges have the belief that prohibiting freedom of speech will resolve such issues. But instead, colleges should take a different approach on the matter by teaching students how to properly utilize their Freedom of Speech which will help to resolve future conflicts and misunderstandings.

One of the most notable rights stated in our constitution is the right to free speech. That right is engrained in the minds of every American since the creation of America itself, but currently the right to free speech is being tossed aside in the fear of conflict with opposing ideas or offensive content. College universities specifically have taken steps to impede upon this right through speech codes and other acts that restrict the right to speak freely. American’s growing infringement upon the right of free speech in universities is creating a threat to American culture and the principles that it was founded upon; In order for our citizens to withhold their individuality, opinions, and culture free speech must be actively protected.

The words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., spoken forty-three years ago, capture the spirit of the American dream. Since its conception, the United States of America has been the universal symbol for freedom and hope. The five most fundamental freedoms cherished by every citizen are granted in the First Amendment to the Constitution. Among them, Americans treasure the right to freedom of speech above all others. Yet, as we stand here in the birth of a new millennium, this right has become endangered. College campuses across the

Frederick Lawrence is a credible source to address the topic of free speech because throughout his life and career, he has been an advocate for free expression and the civil rights movement. He is a visiting professor of law at the Yale Law School as well as a former president of Brandeis university; he has experience working on a college campus paired with a high understanding and knowledge of free expression. His article is from an educational standpoint that has solid reasoning to support how the challenge of free speech on campuses has never been greater.

American society identifies itself as a society where freedom and equal opportunity for learning and expressing new ideas are abundant and unthwarted. The free speech principle, or the principle that all speech and ideas should be able to move freely without being impeded on by government or an institution, is a principle American society has taken many steps to solidify and safeguard. Despite our best efforts, differentiating ideas and free speech continue to be segregated in favor of popular opinion especially in higher education. Often times, students along with public speakers and professors are silenced on campus because of conflict with the public’s sentiment. This obstruction of the basic American value of free speech in higher education comes with a detrimental cost to liberal education and the free flow of ideas.

According to Hate Speech, they defined it as speech that is intended to insult, offend, or intimidate a person because of some trait such as race, religion, sexual orientation, or disability (Hate Speech, n.d.). Hate speech can

After reviewing Supreme Court cases relevant to the issue of freedom of speech on public college campuses it is evident that some guidance has been given, here is what we know when looking at free speech on public college campuses. First, in Sweezy, there is a recognized right by the Court to Academic Freedom, especially scholarship and the need for the freedom to inquire, evaluate, and study (354 U.S. 234). Secondly, in Keyishian, the Court set the standard for Academic freedom as not allowing “…laws that cast a pall of orthodoxy over the classroom” (385 U.S. 603). Keyishian also recognized that restrictions put forth by the college that administer a potential Chilling Effect, are deemed unconstitutional. Lastly, in Healy, the Court recognized

Theoretical Perspective There are three arguments for free speech which is Democratic Government, Search for Truth, and Autonomy. According to Utm.org “The first philosophical justification of free speech is that free speech is essential for the proper functioning of a democratic government. An environment of open debate and dialogue will give lawmakers the opportunity to critically examine possible public policies of every variety. Democracy involves a wide spectrum of opinions about what is best for society, and it is impossible for law makers to act on them all” (Utm.org). This can also be applied to college campuses.

Being a fairly new college student myself, I have yet to see many speakers at my school, much less controversial figures, however I have seen the passion that some students have towards a certain ideology. Thanks to the Internet, I have been able to see the main conflicts that are often referred to when talking about freedom of speech, those of speakers such as Milo Yiannopoulos, California’s Attorney General, Xavier Becerra, and even speakers like Richard B. Spencer.

Free speech is something the constitution promised, but it seems as if the people of this country suddenly forget about it. Free speech is a given with America, as most countries do not have free speech. Some people may even immigrate to America for free speech rights. Now, apparently, free speech is offending so many sensitive teens, and all who offend others another shall be “silenced” by their peers. Colleges are a victim of this epidemic, where students decide that offending material or speech should be shushed. There are even places where

Our founding fathers created the first amendment, the right to freedom of speech, to protect controversial and unpopular speech. Freedom of speech defines the identity of America, especially when comparing it to other nations that are run by communist regimes. A way of protesting an issue is through using one’s freedom of expression and allowing one’s voice to be heard. College campuses are the center for facilitating debates. Sometimes it means having difficult conversations surrounding controversial issues.

America is known as The Land of Freedom, basically we are entitled for legal freedom to do whatever we wanted to. However, the freedom of speech has been challenged by many university students and educators recently. In their argument, they believe that free speech has triggered students’ unhappiness and jeopardize campus’ safety. What is the free speech or freedom of speech? According to dictionary, freedom of speech is the right of people to express their opinions publicly without governmental interference, subject to the laws against libel, incitement to violence or rebellion and etcetera.

‘Free speech’ the words sound so simple but without them the world would be a very different place. Imagine a time when a person could be imprisoned and even killed for just simply speaking their mind. Free Speech is important at our nation's colleges and universities because it allows us students to take what we are learning and apply it to our own philosophies and the philosophies of others. How would we be able to learn anything other than what was allowed, if we didn't have the freedom to exchange our opinions and ideas? The exchange of ideas is important for learning. The ability to express oneself without the fear of being socially criticized is essential to creating a more sound and improved society.

In this day and age, we are some of the lucky few that have a democratic system for our government. This not only means that everyone has a voice, but also that we have the freedom to voice our opinions and also the right to remain silent if we please. If voting, the pillar of our democracy, is forced and people must state their opinion or else they’ll go to prison or get in some way punished, it not longer becomes a pillar, but rather a figure similar to a wall, preventing us from our rights that millions of people have fought for and the rights that our founding fathers envisioned for our country. In the 2016 presidential election, some had strong opinions on their favorite candidate, but some did not want to choose out of two people that they think aren’t good enough to run our country. These people, some strong-sided and some swaying sides, they all were actually using their freedom of speech. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution states, “The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits (Pro-hib-its) the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, ensuring that there is no prohibition on the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble, or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.” In summary, everyone has the right to say whatever they’d like to say, practice whatever religion or non-religion they wish, and that people cannot be forced to voice anything if they didn’t wish to, commonly known as the right to remain silent. Not only would it restrict our rights, but it would cause for an unbalance in our carefully structured democracy such as ruining the freedom that all people have in this country to speak if they wish and if they don’t wish to speak, they are allowed to stay silent. Mandatory voting would ruin this and essentially take away people’s rights. The rising of the uninformed voter has caused many issues, and most people have said that mandatory voting would help decline those issues. This might be the correct option if we weren’t a democracy, but we have our rights, freedoms and we are allowed to practice them

Freedom of Speech is a concept that modern society is founded on. However, there has been much debate on how far should we go to protect freedom of speech. Some say that this freedom is essential and should have very few limits. Whereas others contend that there should be further restrictions put on this freedom to create a better, more inclusive society. This leads to the issue of “No Platforming”. Should speakers be allowed a platform no matter what their views are? Or should we carefully vet who is chosen to be put up on this platform?