Students at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro are protesting the fact that free speech is only allowed in two small "free speech zones." The school, which has been given a "red light" rating from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) for its onerous restrictions on free speech, had attempted to punish the students for their protest. However, negative publicity forced the school to back off. (UNC Greensboro, being a public university, is bound by law to observe the First Amendment.)
One of the things that may have helped the students is that they shot video of their protest and captured the administration's attempt to shut them down.
Hopefully, the trend of students documenting the abuses of basic rights on campus will continue. In many cases, administrators are aware that their actions won't be viewed favorably outside the walls of their respective institutions, but they bank on the fact that the general public won't find out. Thanks to technology, though, students are able to fight back in ways they couldn't before. The balance of power is changing...
15 Feb 2006 @ 1:37pm