Shouldn’t an Entire Campus Be a Free Speech Zone—Not Just .02 Percent of It?
Jan 13, 2017George Leef0 Comments
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(Editor’s note: This article first appeared on Forbes.com.)
Hostility to free speech has become a salient characteristic of American college campuses.
Speech codes that make it dangerous for students (or anyone else) to say things that might be regarded as offensive or “harassing” are all too common—even though the codes have been found to violate the First Amendment when challenged in court.
Another means of limiting free speech that college officials have used is the “free speech zone” tactic. That allows them to claim that they aren’t against students exercising their First Amendment rights, but are merely imposing a “reasonable” regulation on them. Policies limiting free speech only to small zones on campus are distressingly common. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has concluded that roughly one in six colleges and universities have them.
http://www.jamesgmartin.center/2017/01/shouldnt-entire-campus-free-speech-zone-not-just-02-percent/
