Blog Post #2
Topic: Free Speech Areas
Now that I have been introduced to the Free Speech Area at the University of Kentucky, I decided to look into the history of free speech areas at campuses across the nation. --http://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/legalresearch.asp?id=78--
In the 1980s the first "Free Speech Zones" were first introduced into college institutions. They started off as pretty rare places, but as time went on they gained more and more traction to the point where almost every major higher learning institution has one. Theses zones on many college campuses are marked off areas ranging from 20 feet by 20 feet to the size of a small city block. Many college administrators use these areas to help show that they care about the free speech of their students and other individuals, however, many receive criticism because if one ventures beyond the confines of these Free Speech Zones they can face major academic or criminal prosecutions. There are some that say by zoning off the areas where one can express their thoughts freely, they have turned "the First Amendment on its head"
Having cordoned off areas for free speech does bring up a good question. If you can only do it in a confined area is it still free speech? Do universities and colleges really have the idea of free speech at heart or are they simply trying to pander to free speech activists? To that I do not have the answer, although I would venture to guess it is a combination of the two.
--Stephen Ritchie
This is a very intriguing topic that I had no idea of before reading your blog post. I liked your questioning of the free speech zone in its regard to the First Amendment.
ReplyDeleteStephen, you have chosen a topic that could make a very interesting documentary. I suggest you do some research on protests or other events that have been located in the free speech zone throughout UK's history, especially in the recent past. Also pay attention when you're walking through the area to see if anything ever pops up. You do a nice job both summarizing and asking questions in your blog posts. Make sure to clearly identify your source, not just providing the URL. In your future posts, also reflect on how the source could be used in a documentary. This source could be used in a section of the documentary focused on larger national issues and the First Amendment.
ReplyDelete