The principle of free speech is among the many cornerstones of the society and more so the American society. It is premised on a neutral principle that every individual has a fundamental right to air their views and opinions on any given subject irrespective of what content their views have. The test of whether an individual is in support of free speech is not when they agree with the speaker’s views but when the individual as a listener is not in agreement with the speaker’s views but when they disagree with the speaker and believe their speech is hateful and offensive but still allow them to speak.
Speakers in Campuses
It is alarming that various speakers have in the recent past been barred and restricted from speaking on campuses because of their strong views. If higher learning institutions such as colleges and the universities ban any speaking engagements with perceived controversial speakers as a result of speculative concerns and fear of the possibility of violence, the free speech that has been enjoyed for a long time may end up being eroded. Protests such as the ones that were witnessed at Claremont McKenna Colleges and College of William and Mary Evergreen State Middlebury are therefore a violation of human rights (Gillman and Chemerinsky, 2017). The protests were aimed at preventing speakers along with their sponsors from the exercising what should be a universal right of speech. The majority of universities and colleges have policies on student conduct that are against the disruption of campus activities or regular businesses. Disruption of speakers is a violation of free speech. The campus controversies are said to have erupted from some campuses creating processes whereby certain people can be given their preferred right to access the campus venues using reservation processes (Wilson, 2017). The ones who secure the reservations acquire claims to the given space at that time and have the right not to be interfered with or disrupted.
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Speakers with repellant views should therefore not be denied their rights to give a speech in campuses bust should also be made to respect the rights of the students in those campuses by not threatening their learning environment or inciting other students against the minority students (Wilson, 2017). When talking with someone you disagree with, you should give them a chance and listen to their views as they listen to yours then reason by what the two have presented. When talking with someone who agrees with you, you should also get them to see the other side by presenting to them what people of the contrary opinion think and get their views on the same. However, free speech should not amount to hate speech, and as the students have claimed in their protests, speeches and speakers who promote hostile environments for learning while harming and hindering some students’ ability to learn should equally be addressed. Additionally, I believe that even as we allow free speech, we should do so while protecting the rights of the people who may be affected by the said speech. As a result, there should also be limits on the language that students and teachers use in the classroom. Language that is discriminative and that allows for the threatening of some student’s peace. We should not uphold the rights of an individual while by so doing we are violating those of many others.
Free speech is paramount in the modern world and disruption of speech violates the rights t free speech. However, speakers should also ensure that as they enjoy their rights, they at no chance have the right to violate that of others. Classroom language should be limited as well to avoid detrimental descriptions of people based on stereotypical and discriminative perspectives.
References
Gillman, H., & Chemerinsky, E. (October 17, 2017). Retrieved November 17, 2017, from http://www.chronicle.com/article/Does-Disruption-Violate-Free/241470
1A, Retrieved November 17, 2017, from https://the1a.org/audio/#/shows/2017-04-25/too-pc-or-not-pc-the-debate-over-free-speech-on-campus/110755/@00:00
Wilson, J. (2017, September 29). Free Speech on Campus. Retrieved November 17, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/29/opinion/free-speech-berkeley.html
