Student freedom must be 'coupled with persona

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Civil Liberties

• POLS 21 The American Political System

They that can give up essential liberty to
obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither
liberty nor safety. Benjamin Franklin
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The First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom
of speech, or of the press or the right of the
people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances.
What is speech? How far does freedom extend?
To whom does this protection extend?
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What is Speech?
The First Amendment protects more than pure
speech. It also protects symbolic speech
conduct that expresses an opinion.
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What is Speech?
The First Amendment protects more than pure
speech. It also protects symbolic speech
conduct that expresses an opinion.

• According to a law proposed by one Florida
  legislator, people who wear low-rise jeans that
  expose skin or other intimate clothing should
  be fined and possibly sent to jail. Can a
  persons choice of clothing be protected under
  the First Amendment?
• What about school dress codes? In Louisiana,
  several parents sued their local school board in
  Federal District Court. They claimed that the
  dress code violated their children's right to
  free speech.
• What about students who wear outspoken clothing
  to school? In 2003, a Michigan teenager was sent
  home for wearing a T-shirt showing a picture of
  President Bush, with the caption International
  Terrorist underneath.

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Schools and Free Speech
While clothing worn for the expression of
opinions is generally protected by the courts,
the law also recognize that school boards
sometimes have their own legitimate interests in
regulating student conduct that outweigh an
individual students right to free speech. In
balancing a students right to free speech
against a schools right to maintain order, there
are several considerations

• In Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community
  School District (1969), the Supreme Court ruled
  that school officials cannot suppress student
  expression of political views unless they can
  show that such expression would substantially
  interfere with the work of the school or impinge
  upon the rights of other students.
• Free speech can be limited, however, if it is
  lewd, obscene, or otherwise offensive. For
  example, in Bethel School District No. 403 v.
  Fraser (1986), the Supreme Court upheld the
  suspension of a student who had given a speech
  with sexually suggestive metaphors at a school
  assembly. Officials found that the speech was not
  appropriate for a student audience.
• Finally, in Hazelwood School District v.
  Kuhlmeier (1988), the Supreme Court upheld school
  officials' censorship of articles written by
  students for an official school newspaper about
  pregnancy and the impact of divorce on teenagers
  citing legitimate pedagogical concerns.

Since low-ride jeans and school dress codes do
not raise any of these concerns, those
policiesas silly as they may seemare not barred
by the Constitution.
Source The American School Board Journal, July
2001
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How Far Does Freedom Extend?
Does the First Amendment grant unlimited freedom
of speech and expression? No! Today,
limitations on free speech fall into several
broad categories

• Commercial speech
• Libel and slander
• Obscenity

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To Whom Does this Protection Extend?
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Do Americans Support First Amendment Rights?

• In 1955, substantial majorities of those polled
  said that an admitted Communist should not be
  permitted to
• Speak publicly
• Teach in high schools or colleges
• Work as a clerk in a store
• Majorities also agreed that Communists should
• Have their citizenships revoked
• That books written by Communists should be taken
  out of
• public libraries
• That government should be allowed to tap
  personal
• telephone conversations to gather information
  against
• suspected Communists
• That admitted Communists should be thrown in
  jail

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Public Support of Free Speech

• Only half of those polled were willing to grant
  members of their least-liked group the right to
  make a public speech
• 59 thought tapping their telephones was
  acceptable
• 29 thought that the group should be outlawed
  altogether

Members of the _________ should be banned from
being President of the United States Members of
the _________ should be allowed to teach in the
public schools The __________ should be
outlawed Members of the _________ should be
allowed to make a speech in this city The
__________ should have their phones tapped by our
government The __________ should be allowed to
hold public rallies in our city.
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How Far are We Willing to Go to Support Free
Speech?

• Controversial art
• Indecency on the internet
• Campus Speech codes

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Free Speech and Artistic Expression
The Holy Virgin Mary (1996), by Chris Ofili
Piss Christ (1987), by Andres Serrano
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Manets Olympia (1863)
Titians Venus of Urbino (1538)
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Indecency on the Internet
The Miller test (1973) asks whether an average
person, applying contemporary local community
standards, would find that the work, taken as a
whole, appeals to prurient interest.
IS THERE SUCH A THING?
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Indecency on the Internet
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(No Transcript)
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Free Speech on Campus
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Free Speech on Campus
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UVM Code of Students Rights and Responsibilities
Reasons for the Policy

• Some actions cannot be tolerated because they
  seriously interfere with the basic purposes and
  processes of an academic community or with the
  rights accorded other members of the community.
• The policy helps to foster a culture of
  inclusion and openness and to promote positive
  changes in student cultures and behavioral
  norms.
• Student freedom must be coupled with personal
  responsibility and accountability for individual
  action and the consequences of that action.

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UVM Code of Students Rights and Responsibilities
Applicability of the Policy

• The Code applies conduct that occurs on
  University premises or at University related
  activities. Likewise, conduct engaged in through
  electronic communication systems, including, but
  not limited to, social media, e-mail, and text
  messaging, is subject to the provisions herein.
• Off-campus behavior may also subject a student
  to the conduct process or other appropriate
  administrative action when it is reasonable
  perceived to post an imminent threat of harm to
  the safety of the student or others

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UVM Code of Students Rights and Responsibilities
- Policy Elaboration

• Offenses against persons include verbal or
  written statements that constitute a form of
  expression not protected by the First Amendment,
  such as obscenities, fighting words, or
  defamation.
• Non-physical abuse is defined as conduct that
  has the purpose or effect of creating an
  intimidating, hostile or demeaning environment
  that substantially interferes with anothers
  ability to participate in or realize the intended
  benefits of educations or employment
  opportunities, peaceful enjoyment of residence,
  or physical security. Non-physical abuse shall be
  found where, in aggregate, the conduct is
  sufficiently pervasive, persistent, or severe
  that a reasonable person would be adversely
  affected to such a degree.

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UVM Code of Students Rights and Responsibilities
- Policy Elaboration

• 2007 Non-physical abuse means psychological
  abuse or abusive behavior through oral or written
  statements that are intended or could reasonably
  be foreseen to cause disruption, embarrassment,
  humiliation, shame, fright, grief, or
  intimidation.
• 2012 Non-physical abuse is defined as conduct
  that has the purpose or effect of creating an
  intimidating, hostile or demeaning environment
  that substantially interferes with anothers
  ability to participate in or realize the intended
  benefits of educations or employment
  opportunities, peaceful enjoyment of residence,
  or physical security. Non-physical abuse shall be
  found where, in aggregate, the conduct is
  sufficiently pervasive, persistent, or severe
  that a reasonable person would be adversely
  affected to such a degree.

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UVM Code of Students Rights and Responsibilities
- Policy Elaboration

• The University of Vermont considers freedom of
  inquiry and discussion essential to a students
  educational development. Thus, the University
  recognizes the right of all students to engage in
  discussion, to exchange thought and opinion, and
  to speak, write, or publish freely on any
  subject, in accordance with the guarantees of the
  United States and Vermont constitutions. This
  broad principle is the cornerstone of education
  in a democracy There are no restrictions on the
  points of view expressed by speakers other than
  those imposed by federal or state law.

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FIREs Campus Rating for UVM
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Free Speech vs. Hate Speech
The Debate over College Speech Codes
There is currently a regulation on the books
here at UVM (where I work) that demands that any
groupwhether student or notget a permit to
espouse their philosophy on campus. Why? What is
the university afraid of? Communists? Out of
control religious zealots? And who made them the
arbiter of who should be allowed to have freedom
of speech and who should not? These regulations
are like those in many towns and cities that
forbid rallies and demonstrations by residents
unless the groups or individuals involved pay for
the police and other services the municipality
insists that it must provide. It is time to
remove these regulations from the books. To do so
may invite ideas we dont want to hear, but it
will also create an environment where we can
debate and challenge ideas we disagree with. If
we dont live and study in a democratic
environment, how will we know how to make one
once we leave this place? If the first amendment
isnt fought for, it will continue to disappear.
Remember, Tom Paine didnt ask the British for a
permit to publish Common Sense. Ron Jacobs,
Counterpunch.org, April 16/17, 2005