University of Kentucky Free Speech Area

Blog Post #1

Topic: Free Speech Area at the University of Kentucky

     Without knowing anything about the Free Speech Area at UK, I first went to the official UK website to find out more about it.  --http://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/Code/part3.html--
The specific page I was looking at falls under Part III of the Student Code of Conduct.

    In order to ensure that all students have the ability to freely speak their minds, an area has been set up on campus where individuals can go and will not be prosecuted for what they say. This area is called the Free Speech are and is "located west of the Student Center and Alumni Gymnasium and bounded by those two buildings‚ Administration Drive‚ Limestone Street‚ and Euclid Avenue" This area is available without reservation at any time of the day as long as the University is in session. Individuals making use of the free speech area can even get free access to audio equipment as long as they give the University 30 minutes prior notice to prepare, however, the volume of the audio and the direction that is faces is up to the discretion of the University at any time.  There is no regulations regarding what can be said as long as it does not become violent, hate or racially motivated, or otherwise deemed insensitive.

    Realizing that there is a Free Speech Area at the University of Kentucky made me question why it is located in a specific area, and why there is even one in the first place. I would venture to say that its existence can be accredited to the fact that many other universities and educational institutions have similar places, so it may have been created simply out of tradition.  The location makes sense, it is essentially in an area where there is a lot of foot traffic from university students at most hours of the normal school day with people going in and out of the Student Center.

--Stephen Ritchie