Emily Kowalik ‘18
Opinion Editor
Earlier this month, student protesters prevented the President of the University of Oregon from delivering his “State of the University” speech. The group responded to criticism of their actions by saying that free speech is the right of individuals to express themselves without repression. They argued that taking the stage and using it as a platform to air their grievances was an act of free speech, not a violation of it.
The same arguments were used when students tried to prevent campus speeches at the college of Claremont McKenna, Evergreen State, Middlebury and William and Mary. Students had staged protests primarily to disrupt scheduled speakers.
Granted, some of the speakers scheduled to speak at those schools are controversial, such as Richard Spencer who spoke last week at the University of Florida.
Even so, do students have the right to prevent others from speaking? Is heckling an exercise of the right to free speech? Isn’t the prevention of speech as much a threat to the right of free expression as censorship of student protest movement is?
Many campuses are now reacting to hecklers by establishing “free speech zones” where students and faculty can exercise their right to freedom of expression without fear of being stopped by violent protests.
But is this the answer?
When speaking at Georgetown University’s law school, Jeff Sessions addressed the issue of free speech on college campuses. Students protested his appearance. In response, some 130 students who had registered and received tickets were uninvited to the talk, and students and faculty were told by university officials to limit their protest to a designated “free speech zone.” Most ironically though, Sessions actually spoke out against the practice of establishing protest zones in his remarks.
It’s clear that the controversy of free speech and heckling is not unique to the University of Oregon. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education states one in 10 colleges have zoned free speech.
Yet making parts of campus off-limits to demonstrations, rallies, sit-ins, marches and protests can be just as harmful to free speech rights on college campuses as hecklers.
Isn’t it time that we came up with a solution that protects the rights of speakers without trampling the right of peaceful protesters?
