FIRE's Spotlight

One thing about the United States which I greatly value is free speech. That might seems trivial, but in Europe, speech is typically far more restricted than it is in the U.S. For example, in Germany, it is illegal to sing the first verse of the German national anthem or to deny that the Holocaust occurred. In France, it is illegal to make statements which "incite racial hatred." While these rules may seem reasonable at face value, they and others like them are often used to stifle independent thinking and can cause more harm than good.

I am proud that America puts very few restrictions on speech, even though I disagree with many things that people use this right to proclaim. Thus, it concerns my greatly that my university persists in enacting unconstitutional speech codes. For several years now, as a member of the Campus Freedom Network of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, I have closely watched the administration's efforts to make our campus more "accepting" by restricting unpopular speech, including its creation of tiny "free speech zones." In addition to being unnecessarily Draconian, these measures undermine the very purpose of a university- to promote learning through the free exchange of ideas.

If this issue concerns you as much as it concerns me, then I urge you to consider joining the Campus Freedom Network at '>http://www.blogger.com/. The CFN provides students with information on currently threats to campus freedom, suggestions for combating it, and assistance it fighting it when necessary.