Silke Jasso
So long are the days of open debate and dialogue in higher education. Today, campuses are inundated with microscopic “free speech zones” limiting students’ First Amendment rights. And it’s only getting worse.
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Arrested for handing out pocket Constitutions, having to “come out” as a conservative on campus, and being required permission to canvass for sign ups for your newly forming libertarian club. These are all real world stories of political life on America’s college campuses.
Unlike the student left-driven free speech movement of the 1960s birthed at the University of California, Berkeley, today’s leftist students are demanding more speech restrictions on campus, not less.
If anything, the left is enacting their own version of the 1950s “Red Scare.” Anyone who isn’t a progressive – mainly those who consider themselves libertarians or conservatives – are often ridiculed for their political views. What an easy way to shallow an otherwise necessary debate.
Stripping fellow students of their speech rights on campus and undermining the legitimacy of our electoral system are just a few of the political tactics spewing out of the left’s playbook. The legitimacy of the “Love Trumps Hate” slogan diminishes when some on the left promote physical attacks on libertarians and conservatives. It’s much easier, albeit ineffective and archaic, to suppress your opposition instead of actually sitting down at the table with them.
Sadly, these days if you’re a libertarian peaceably handing out pocket Constitutions, you could spend the night in jail. At least that’s what happened to Young Americans for Liberty members at Kellogg Community College in Michigan.
As one of our chapter members advocated the Bill of Rights on campus, campus law enforcement officials arrested the student for “obstructing” the education of her peers.
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You heard that right: Kellogg community college apparently believes that advocating for First Amendment rights is actually hindering the education of other students. These restrictive speech codes betray the First Amendment and rob America’s youth of freedom of thought and a free academia. Young Americans for Liberty isn’t going to sit by and watch it happen.
YAL’s national Fight for Free Speech is challenging unconstitutional free speech zones and codes on college campuses to level the playing field. We’re hosting hundreds of activism events on campuses in every corner of the United States. With over 900 YAL chapters across the country, we will continue to stand in defense of your rights, and encourage students around the country to join us in our Fight for Free Speech.
