HW 1
Most college students learned about the first amendment when they were young, but even now as young adults, they have differing levels of understanding of how it impacts their daily lives and it's role in their campus community. The First Amendment is one of the first 10 constitutional amendments that make up the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment is comprised of five freedoms or rights granted to US Citizens or anyone on US soil: the right to free speech, the right to freedom of religion, the right to freedom of press, the right to freedom of assembly, and the right to freedom of petition. Many people first learn about the First Amendment in elementary school and continue to learn about it in varying depths throughout their education but once the test and pop quizzes are over, how many people really know what it includes? How many college students really know their First Amendment rights? The answer may surprise you.
The Iowa Board of Regents requires that all public universities in the state of Iowa include free speech statements in their class syllabi, and have written free speech policies available on the official websites. After a series of incidents at all three of Iowa's public universities, the board introduced a new Free Speech Committee, and created new policies and penalties for free speech violations, according to the Des Moines Register. Even with new policies and more high profile incidents, some students at UNI still don't fully understand the scope of their First Amendment rights and the limits of free speech. Of five students that were interviewed, only one could name all five protected freedoms, and two students could not even name four. Jaylee Knowles, a 21 year old Psychology student was close, but got a few of the other amendments mixed up with the First Amendment freedoms. "It covers freedom to religion, speech... oh i'm so mad I don't remember them... the right to liberty, owning land, and maybe the right to autonomy?"
A common misconception among the college student that were interviewed was what types of speech are and are not protected under freedom of speech. For example, hate speech or inflammatory statements are protected under the First Amendment, whereas statements threatening violence or obscene language are not protected and can have legal repercussions. Kaitlyn Burkamper, a 20 year old Pre-Audiology major said "There are laws against slander and saying things about people that aren't true along with things that cause another person stress or harm". This is a great point that proves how tricky it can be to determine if a statement is protected by the First Amendment or not. Legal issues often arise around issues such as slander or libel, and free speech is often called into question. "You have to deal with the repercussions of your actions, like if you say something that starts a riot and there is violence involved you can't get in trouble for saying it but you can get in trouble for the aftermath and consequences of those words" said Sarah Koury, a 22 year old Health Sciences major. Sarah's point is the caveat to free speech: your words may be immune from legal action, but you are not immune to the consequences of saying those words. For example, if someone goes on a racist tangent they can't get arrested for saying that, but they could get fired for it.
The general form of the official UNI free speech policy states that "As a university and part of the State of Iowa, the University of Northern Iowa – including its students, faculty and staff members, administrators, and volunteers – have a responsibility to ensure freedom of speech and expression is lawfully supported and protected. Providing a forum for free speech or expression of ideas is a cherished and time-honored feature of university life. Persons must be able to express their ideas in a lawful manner without suppressing the right of freedom of expression of others" (uni.edu). Although the free speech and freedom of expression policy is noted in all class syllabi, many students do not fully understand it or have their own interpretations of how they view free speech at UNI. "I feel like free speech is just kind of being who you are and being able to express your opinions and not having your professors or classmates discriminate against you for being who you are" said Rileigh Dodd, a 20 year old Nursing major. All of the students that were interviewed expressed that they felt that UNI's freedom of speech and expression policies are an essential thing that protects students from discrimination and allows everyone to have and voice their opinions. Some students like Kaitlyn are confident in their policy knowledge and can cite specific statements, while other students like Jaylee look at it through a broader lens and from a community standpoint. Abigail Saathoff, a 20 year old Public Relations and Journalism double major eloquently summed up why even allowing unkind speech is essential. "I think the policy is a good thing, even though it potentially allows my fellow students to say things that are unkind, but I understand that we all have those freedoms so we are all allowed to express our opinions as we see fit".
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