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Freedom of Speech on College Campuses
Please read the following excerpt taken from an article published on www.insidehighered.com website on September 2016:
A recent Gallup poll concluded that college students support First Amendment rights in the abstract but many are also comfortable shuttering free speech and impeding a free press in order to restrict offensive or biased speech. Taking the measure of campus debates about free expression from this past academic year, the survey results provide additional evidence that real issues are at stake beyond the scorching, end-is-nigh headlines such as The Death of Free Speech on College Campuses Increasing skepticism about the importance of free expression is turning a significant — and vocal — contingent of students into cynics who regard free speech as nothing more than a weapon of the rich, the powerful and the privileged. That trend poses a threat to the development of robust critical thinking skills as well as to the health and vitality of participatory democracy. For those students who imagine that First Amendment rights are monopolized by the entitled, free speech is seen as little more than a license to offend and oppress historically marginalized groups, especially people of color. On the issue of censorship, [t]he Free Expression Gallup poll reported that more than two out of three students say colleges should be allowed to establish policies that restrict slurs and other language that is intentionally offensive to certain groups. Setting aside epithets, more than one in four say colleges should be able to restrict speech expressing political views that are upsetting or offensive to certain groups. Those numbers signal that many students are suspicious of — or even downright reject — the premise that the best antidote to offensive speech is always more speech, an idea that has long been a basic tenet of free expression. Among these students, the survey revealed, are men and women, whites and blacks as well as Democrats, Republicans and Independents.
As a college student, where do you stand on the issue of freedom of speech on college campuses? Should it be limited and should colleges create safe-zones for students? Do you think such zones create a chilling impact on speech? Do you agree with what the author claims in his article about college students view of freedom of speech?
Please write an opinion paper on this topic, no more than two pages in length for submission. Deadline is Sunday, September 27th. The paper must be typed and single-spaced and no smaller than 12-pt font.
Please feel free to read the entire essay for purposes of the assignment.
