Online Journal
Front Page 
 
 Donate
 
 Submissions
 
 Announcements
 
 NewsLinks
 
 Special Reports
 
 News Media
 
 Elections & Voting
 
 Health
 
 Religion
 
 Social Security
 
 Analysis
 
 Commentary
 
 Editors' Blog
 
 Reclaiming America
 
 The Splendid Failure of Occupation
 
 The Lighter Side
 
 Reviews
 
 The Mailbag
 
 Online Journal Stores
 Official Merchandise
 Amazon.com
 
 Links
 
 Join Mailing List
Search

Commentary Last Updated: Oct 14th, 2008 - 00:56:39


Conservative group is right; free speech is not a political issue
By Walter Brasch
Online Journal Contributing Writer


Oct 14, 2008, 00:11

Email this article
 Printer friendly page

The Sunbird Conservatives, a student group, put out some pro-McCain literature at a recruiting table at Fresno Pacific University a week ago.

Seemed innocent enough. The conservatives weren�t harassing anyone, nor were they blocking any sidewalks.

But, administrators at this Christian-based college didn�t like it. A dean told the students to either remove the McCain literature or to agree to what he said was university policy to present both sides. The dean correctly noted that the First Amendment applies only to government intrusion. A private university, unlike a public university, may curtail any free speech it wants.

The students still argued �free speech rights.� Enter the provost, head of all academic affairs at the university. She reaffirmed the dean�s demands. One of the members shouted: �free speech� at her. They challenged her, arguing that for a political organization to present both views would defy common sense. The provost�s response, according to the conservative Leadership Institute, was �Shut-up! I�m the provost. That is disrespectful.�

The students were warned if they didn�t comply with the administrators� demands, they would be restricted in future activities on campus.

The Founding Fathers wanted all views to be heard. Channeling the revolutionary political philosophy of poet John Milton and judge Lord Blackstone, they believed that mankind is rational, and if all the facts were available, mankind would find the truth. That became the basis of the First Amendment.

Now, the twist is that the Fresno Pacific administrators were wrong. Their own university actually believes that all views should be allowed, as long as there is the opportunity for opposing views. It does not require one organization to put out all views.

But, the Fresno Pacific administrators are also right. A private university can do what it wants to do. It can encourage or restrict free speech. Except in California.

California is the only state that extends the First Amendment to private colleges, which as a matter of educational philosophy should encourage, not restrict, freedom of expression.

This means that the wishes of the Founding Fathers have been extended into California, which many believe is a hellhole of liberalism. Disregard the fact that some rabid conservatives actively try to restrict free speech rights of others. Disregard the reality that conservatives who want to keep government out of our lives used both the constitution and state law to underscore their right to distribute political literature.

It�s time for all states, especially Pennsylvania where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were written, to enact legislation to assure that the principles of the nation, and especially the rights of free expression, are extended to all sectors, both public AND private.

Walter Brasch is professor of journalism at Bloomsburg University and president of the Pennsylvania Press Club. He is senior author of the critically-acclaimed �The Press and the State,� and author of ��Unacceptable�: The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina� (January 2006) and �Sinking the Ship of State: The Presidency of George W. Bush� (November 2007), available through amazon.com. You may contact Brasch at brasch@bloomu.edu or through his website at: www.walterbrasch.com.

Copyright © 1998-2007 Online Journal
Email Online Journal Editor

Top of Page

Commentary
Latest Headlines
Consumerism as Christmas or how much do you love me?
Regaining US� moral stature -- rarely has one man been so burdened with hopes of so many
Definitions: Mammon
A little less conversation . . .
Dining with friends after the election: Another pleasant weekend in neoliberal America
Obama and the Great Depression
This just in from Middle Earth
America�s moronic hegemonic policy spells disaster
James Zogby and the politics of perception
Elected leaders let Iraqi people down
Equal human rights
Keep the White House drapes; bring back the solar panels
News Flash: Obama hypnotizes Zinn
My deck chair on the Titanic
Obama is no country song
Unsettling signs: Buzzwords, politics and US elections
Some things are bigger than any of us
The foreign policy of an Obama administration
Spare change?
Talking to foes is not appeasement