The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states:<\/p>\n
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.<\/strong><\/p>\n Basically that means that even people you disagree with have the right to speak. However, that principle is not being taught on many of our college campuses.<\/p>\n The Daily Signal<\/a> posted an article today about some recent events at Williams College.<\/p>\n The article reports:<\/p>\n At Williams College in Massachusetts, biology professor Dr. Luana Maroja wrote online last year that she was concerned about student and administrator attitudes regarding free speech. She gathered more than 100 faculty signatures on a petition calling for the school to adopt what is known as the \u201cChicago Principles,\u201d a statement in favor of free expression developed by the University of Chicago.<\/strong><\/p>\n More than 60 schools have endorsed this statement, a welcome response to the disrupted events and other nonsense that have plagued universities around the country.<\/strong><\/p>\n Some Williams students will have none of it. Maroja says that more than a dozen of them barged into a faculty meeting last November holding signs such as \u201cfree speech harms\u201d and saying faculty were trying to \u201ckill\u201d the students.<\/strong><\/p>\n After that, tensions escalated. The College Fix reports that a professor subsequently \u201cthreatened violence\u201d if Williams adopted the Chicago statement. All this, because Maroja dared to promote the idea that Williams should maintain a \u201cclimate of mutual respect.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n If that isn’t troubling enough, a poll of the students is even more troubling:<\/p>\n A recent survey of college students found that more than half of respondents say shouting down speakers is \u201calways\u201d or \u201csometimes\u201d acceptable. Sixteen percent of respondents say it is \u201calways\u201d or \u201csometimes\u201d acceptable to use violence to stop a speech protest or rally.<\/strong><\/p>\n These responses are disturbing. Civil society \u2013 life in the office, in your neighborhood, at your child\u2019s soccer game \u2013 depends on people tolerating those who do not share their beliefs, not trying to silence them through intimidation or violence. The American Dream dies if we live in fear of persecution.<\/strong><\/p>\n Williams officials should take seriously the threats posed to the next generation of adults that come from limiting the ideas that can be considered on campus. The school should require students to attend sessions on free speech during freshman orientation \u2013 and explain that hiding from ideas with which you disagree is a poor strategy for life.<\/strong><\/p>\n New policies for public universities in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, and Wisconsin now serve as examples of how to protect everyone\u2019s freedom of expression in a campus community.<\/strong><\/p>\n These policies affirm the idea that anyone should be allowed to protest or demonstrate in public areas as long as they do not prevent others from doing the same. Moreover, they stipulate that their public universities must be prepared to penalize individuals who silence others.<\/strong><\/p>\n The article notes that Williams is a private college and can set its own policies regarding free speech. However, it is troubling that the First Amendment is no longer appreciated or practiced on some college campuses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people … Continue reading