A topic that comes up a lot on campuses a lot is this idea of protesting events that may be offensive or unfavorable to some groups of people under the guise of freedom of speech. The controversy comes in when one asks the question “Aren’t the protesters violating the others’ freedom of speech?” This apparent paradox is the center of a lot of dispute in many colleges throughout the country.
Recently, in DePaul University, protesters obstructed a speech given by a rather controversial figure. They stormed the stage and started blowing whistles and drowning out the speaker because of his offensive and usual “troll-like” comments. The speaker is known for his controversial remarks, yet he was asked to speak at the school. As the article (posted at the bottom) says, the school should’ve been prepared for a protest or something of this caliber to occur. Honestly, in today’s society with such a controversial speaker, wouldn’t you have to expect there to be a riot or some public display?
Something similar happened at UC Irvine. There was a screening of Beneath the Helmets about 5 Israeli soldiers. In the middle of the movie, protesters barged in and started screaming. They wouldn’t let anyone in or out. Eventually, the woman in charge, and a scared student outside the room who wasn’t allowed to reenter, called the police who came and allowed the students to finish watching the movie. The vice chancellor of student affairs for UC Irvine released a statement that I strongly agree with: “We do not approve of free speech that seeks to shut down anyone else’s right to free speech.”
These stories raise two points that I’d like to discuss. The first is that colleges and any higher education institutions (as well as anywhere but that’s not what I’m focusing on) should be able to predict when a speaker they are hosting is controversial and brings with him/her the possibility of protest. Preventative measures should be taken against protests or acts of violence or something similar. Now I’m not saying that controversial speakers shouldn’t brought in. But if there is a known controversy surrounding a certain person, the college should step up security and make sure that everyone is safe throughout the whole event. I actually believe more controversial speakers should be brought in so that we can hear all viewpoints and broaden our horizons. But in order to do this, we must ensure that the speaker has the ability to present his or her ideas. We can’t have protesters claiming freedom of speech stopping others from invoking their right to free speech. Therefore, colleges should recognize the ramifications bringing in a certain speaker may have and plan accordingly.
I actually touched upon the second point I was trying to make, too. It was that freedom of speech shouldn’t be used to stop freedom of speech. If we are going to continue fighting for equal rights, people can’t stop others from speaking. Otherwise, we will become what we are fighting against: we will become our own enemies. I’m not trying to be profound; I’m simply pointing out that our society is changing quickly and becoming ultra-liberal (don’t mind my wording I’m the least political person you’ve ever met, I just don’t know how to describe the sentiment), and fighting freedom with freedom is not the way we should be going about things.
Let me know what you guys think!
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/05/26/two-colleges-what-happens-when-protesters-obstruct-free-speech
On this same note, I wanted to bring up another incident a little different but also related to academic freedom, in which an Oberlin Professor posted on social media several statements basically saying that the terror group ISIS is in reality an organization led by the CIA and the Mossad, and that the Mossad was responsible for orchestrating the attacks on Charlie Hebdo in Paris, and that Israeli and Zionist Jews were responsible for the 9/11 terror attacks. The college issued a statement stating that it respects the right of its faculty to express their personal views even if it did not coincide with the views of the college as a whole. Are these statements protected under academic freedom? Do you think that the professor should face some sort of punishment or rebuke for these statements? Are these statements classified as hate speech or are they merely ignorant statements?
On this same note, I wanted to bring up another incident a little different but also related to academic freedom, in which an Oberlin Professor posted on social media several statements basically saying that the terror group ISIS is in reality an organization led by the CIA and the Mossad, and that the Mossad was responsible for orchestrating the attacks on Charlie Hebdo in Paris, and that Israeli and Zionist Jews were responsible for the 9/11 terror attacks. The college issued a statement stating that it respects the right of its faculty to express their personal views even if it did not coincide with the views of the college as a whole. Are these statements protected under academic freedom? Do you think that the professor should face some sort of punishment or rebuke for these statements? Are these statements classified as hate speech or are they merely ignorant statements?
http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/ole-miss-admits-former-assistant-football-coach-helped-falsify-act-scores/111698
On this same note, I wanted to bring up another incident a little different but also related to academic freedom, in which an Oberlin Professor posted on social media several statements basically saying that the terror group ISIS is in reality an organization led by the CIA and the Mossad, and that the Mossad was responsible for orchestrating the attacks on Charlie Hebdo in Paris, and that Israeli and Zionist Jews were responsible for the 9/11 terror attacks. The college issued a statement stating that it respects the right of its faculty to express their personal views even if it did not coincide with the views of the college as a whole. Are these statements protected under academic freedom? Do you think that the professor should face some sort of punishment or rebuke for these statements? Are these statements classified as hate speech or are they merely ignorant statements?
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/08/us/oberlin-leaders-denounce-professors-remarks-as-anti-semitic.html?_r=0