Universities become censorship zones - 11/18/03 Latest Editorials Previous Story Next Story Editorials Go Tuesday, November 18, 2003 Editorials index for Tuesday, November 18, 2003 ● Homepage Search CyberSurveys Horoscope Lottery Michigan's Best Weather Staff Rules Stifling Free Speech Damage Democracy ● Universities become censorship zones ● Romulus casino will create new jobs, revenue ● Despite the pain, bias causes some blacks to pass for white ● News Talk Autos Talk Big 10 Talk High Schools Lions Talk Pistons Talk Wings Talk Tech Talk Tiger Talk Weight-loss ● Jim Watkins / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, AP Until this summer, the gazebo at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, was the only area on campus where students were allowed to give speeches, demonstrate and hand out pamphlets. Two groups sued the university policy as an illegal restriction on student speech. A Curtain of Secrecy Now Covers the First Amendment ● Government keeps information from citizens ● Losing Liberty: First Amendment Universities become censorship zones Autos Insider Drive Joyrides Business Careers Money & Life Census Columnists Commuting Detroit History Editorials Metro / State Livingston Macomb Oakland Wayne Nation / World Obituaries Death Notices Politics / Govt. Real Estate Religion Tuesday Letters College students get punished for exercising basic constitutional rights on campus By Greg Lukianoff / Special to The Detroit News For those who still believe America's colleges and universities treasure free speech, I would like to introduce Texas Tech University's "free speech gazebo." It is only 20 feet in diameter, but, up until this summer, it was the sole area on campus where Tech's 28,000 students could demonstrate, make speeches and pamphleteer without giving the university six days' advance notice. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and the Alliance Defense Fund launched a legal challenge to Tech's speech policies last June, as part of FIRE's assault on speech codes nationwide. In response, the university added larger "free speech zones." However, the policy Student newspapers stolen in Michigan Students newspapers have been taken at several universities: * Almost all of the 1,400 copies of the Michigan Journal, a student weekly at the University of Michigan at Dearborn, were stolen in April 2003. * On both Feb. 3 and Feb. 5, 2003, 3,000 copies of The Eastern Echo, the student newspaper of Eastern Michigan University, were stolen. Student staff members http://www.thefire.org/offsite/data/detroit_news_111803b.html (1 of 3) [7/22/2004 11:25:57 PM] Book exposes myth of ex-gay industry ● Other voices on scripted debate question ● ● Monday Letters Mounting casualties in Iraq put U.S. strategy under fire ● Terror war hits key point; U.S. must stay committed ● Picture this: Cell phone gains don't ring true ● Press, Speech Freedoms Fall Victim to Terrorism War ● Free speech, press threatened ● Free speech strengthens democracy ● ● Now is the time to ditch Universities become censorship zones - 11/18/03 Schools Special Reports Technology Sports Insider Lions/NFL Red Wings/NHL Pistons/NBA Shock/WNBA Tigers/Baseball MSU U-M More Colleges Golf Guide High Schools Motor Sports Outdoors More Sports Scoreboards Entertainment Casino Guide Movie Finder Restaurants TV Listings Crossword Home Destinations Hunt & Fish On the Water Recreation Homestyle home Decorating Eats & Drinks Recipe Box Gardening Health Home Improvement Home Life Home Tech Wine Report Sports Red Wings Lions Autos Joyrides News History said almost all of the now bans any speech that might newspaper bins on "cause reasonable apprehension" or campus were emptied, but "psychological harm" if it is expressed with the intent of not off-campus distribution "humiliating, demeaning or degrading sites. any member of the university * In February 2000, 100 to community." 150 newspapers from a This broad and vague policy is almost press run of 2,000 were certainly unconstitutional at a public stolen at Lake Superior university and could be used to ban State University. anything from pro-life protests to anti- Source: Student Press Law Bush activism, to virtually any form Center of satire or parody. Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Texas Tech seems to be saying it will Get Home Delivery fight for every inch of repression of free speech allowed under the law. This is no way for an institution ostensibly devoted to free inquiry to behave. Speech codes and speech zones that turn most of the campus into censorship zones -- which are common in academia -- teach students that free speech is at best a joke and at worst a menace. Students have been learning that lesson well for years. A spring 2002 New York Times article titled, "Debate? Dissent? Don't Go There!" explored the growing perception that college students are more guarded about their views than students of previous generations. The author presented potential causes, including the unifying effect of September 11, disgust with partisan politics, the uncivil debates on cable news programs and simple politeness. But there was no mention that students know that they may be punished for exercising their basic constitutional rights on campus. Today's students know they can be arrested for trespassing if they protest outside the speech zones. This happened recently at both Florida State University and California's Citrus College, among other schools. Students know that they can be brought up on charges for publishing satire, because this happened at the University of California San Diego, Stetson University and Tufts University, among other schools. Students know that they can be punished for merely criticizing the administration, because this happened at Harvard Business School, Shaw University, Hampton University and SUNY Suffolk during the last year. They may also be aware that most colleges, probably even their own, have speech codes that ban clearly protected expression. In Michigan, students surely know that they can be forced to take down signs supporting the war on terrorism if administrators deem such postings "offensive" because this happened at Central Michigan University in the wake of September 11. Other students in Michigan may know of Professor John Bonnell, who has been repeatedly disciplined for using graphic language in his literature class at Macomb County Community College in Warren. And students are probably aware of the legacy of the University of Michigan's infamous speech code, which banned speech that "stigmatizes or victimizes" other students on the basis of "ancestry," "creed" and other categories. They may also have heard of Central Michigan University's code that banned "demeaning or slurring individuals." Both policies were ruled unconstitutional by federal courts in the late 1980s and early '90s. The phenomenon of "free speech areas" perhaps best represents the attitude toward free speech on many campuses: Free expression will be http://www.thefire.org/offsite/data/detroit_news_111803b.html (2 of 3) [7/22/2004 11:25:57 PM] steel tariffs Mich.'s tobacco spending condemned ● Flynt finds morality on photos -- maybe ● ● Sunday Letters Deer Hunting Helps Economy and Environment ● ● Editorial Briefs Opening trade morally benefits all people ● Don't punish school districts that save wisely ● Sections for this date Tuesday, November 18, 2003 Select index Copyright © 2003 The Detroit News. Use of this site indicates your agreement to the Terms of Service (updated 12/19/2002). Universities become censorship zones - 11/18/03 tolerated, but grudgingly, and only when it is agreeable, tightly controlled and strictly regulated. These tiny censorship zones exist or have existed at dozens of institutions, such as Western Illinois University, West Virginia University, University of Nebraska at Omaha, University of Houston and University of Alabama. With so many schools showing such hostility to expression, where are students supposed to learn to value freedom of speech? They won't learn it in their classes where students apparently do not feel comfortable expressing their opinions. They won't learn it through their student activities, which are tightly regulated and controlled. They are even unlikely to learn respect for free speech from their fellow students. There is the continuing problem of students stealing and destroying newspapers to repress viewpoints that they dislike. More than five dozen examples have been documented by FIRE and the Student Press Law Center. If this mob censorship represents this generation's attitude toward free speech, we should all be worried. The way to free up repressive campuses and censorship-happy students is complex and involves more than just defeating speech codes, eliminating censorship zones and reinvigorating academic freedom. For the sake of future generations, we must educate the current generation about the value of free speech, not just about its perceived "down side." People who believe in free speech on campus must stop feeling they need to apologize for those beliefs. The messy, chaotic and, yes, sometimes offensive nature of a college campus that embraces free speech should not be feared. It should be celebrated as proof of our society's diversity, passion and vitality. Greg Lukianoff is an attorney and the director of legal and public advocacy for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education in Philadelphia. Send letters to mailto:letters@detnews.com Previous Story http://www.thefire.org/offsite/data/detroit_news_111803b.html (3 of 3) [7/22/2004 11:25:57 PM] Next Story