Preview

Derek Bok Protecting Freedom Of Expression On The Campus

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1039 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Derek Bok Protecting Freedom Of Expression On The Campus
The First Amendment, Freedom of Speech could probably be considered one of the most powerful amendments of the Constitution. It is very important to distinguish the suitability of Freedom of Speech and its’ position under the First Amendment. The essay “Protecting Freedom of Expression on the Campus” presented by Derek Bok gives an example as to why this should be. In his essay Derek Bok responded to the presentation of the Confederate flag and the swastika by students at Harvard, with the expectation that the readers already have an understanding of what the phrase “freedom of speech” means to them as well as other people universally. “The right to freedom of speech allows individuals to express themselves without interference or constraint by the government. The Supreme Court requires the government to provide substantial justification for the …show more content…
He goes on to discuss the fact that the display of these flags triggered a lot of controversy on the university campus, over the freedom of speech. He recalled that some of the students expressed that school administration should not allow the symbols because they are offensive to others. He asserts that some of the students felt the flag was the representation of oppressive and deeply unpleasant time in American history. He also mentions the students who felt that the symbols represented free speech and should be allowed. In his essay Derek Bok acknowledges and speaks to both sides of this argument by defending the display of the flags with the acknowledgements as he read them, of The First Amendment clause, which protects the freedom of speech for all. Then he questions the distastefulness of some free speech acts. He appears

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Spanish 2 answes

    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Freedom of Speech is one of the most powerful amendments that we have as apart of the United States Constitution. Without this right many ideas, beliefs and inventions would not exist today and the majority of the society would be left in ignorance. This right is given to all American citizens and allows them to speak their minds, beliefs and ideas to anybody of people that are willing to listen to them. Though Freedom of Speech is considered a general terms that applies to all forms of speech, there are a few exceptions to the rule.…

    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “Protecting Freedom of Expression on the Campus”, the author, Derek Bok shows how expressing yourself falls under the First Amendment, whether it is on a private college campus or public college campus. He further explains that just because it is protected by law does not mean that it is “right, proper, or civil. Bok goes on to show how censoring freedom of speech would cause people to “test the limits” to gain more attention than is needed and if dealt with in the proper manner, behaviors such as displaying a Confederate flag or a swastika in rebuttal of the flag can be avoided. Freedom of expression is a right and should not…

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    THESIS: The first amendment of the constitution of the United States protects our right to freedom of speech. However, the freedom to speak should not entitle the speaker to purposely hurt another person by revealing private matters or spreading rumors and lies.…

    • 1316 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Why do people burn the flag? The issue of freedom of speech is people are abusing the freedom of speech. This issue is important because some people are burning the american flag. Also after school officials banned civil rights groups from recruiting on campus. Students at the University of California organized sit ins, rallies, and strikes. People who were involved were students from Berkeley named, Mario Savio, and Bettina Apthecker. The common good of people should respect it because they US gave us that privilege of speech. We owe our government the respect because they are the ones who gave us the right.…

    • 261 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the debate over whether speech codes should be enforced or not on university campuses, the opponents conclude that university’s should not enforce a hate speech code because it impedes academic freedom. On the other side of the debate, the supporters conclude that it is a university’s responsibility to enforce hate speech code for an equal education opportunity. In this essay, I will conclude that hate speech should be regulated by a code enforced by the university because of the protection it offers. In the article titled, “Speech Codes Threaten the Free Exchange of Ideas on College Campuses” Eugene Volokh concludes that colleges should enforce a speech code.…

    • 1309 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mizzou Free Speech

    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the article, Mizzou, Yale, and Free Speech, Nicholas Krsitof discusses today’s most sensitive issue: racism. His audience is the people of the United States so he is sure to pull out all of the most controversial issues. He carefully tip-toes around the subject of racism when he shifts the focus from racism and points his readers towards accepting all forms of diversity. He incorporates the need for acceptance of diversity and the increasing cry for the first amendment, also known as, freedom of speech. He attempts to cover every perspective in his article when he goes from the point of view of a liberal, a Christian, and even a transgender person. He argues that there is diversity so that we can challenge each other and in the words of Kristof, “Education is about stretching muscles.”…

    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As American citizens, according to the 1st Amendment in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States, we have the right to freedom of speech. However, in certain vicinities, such as public schools, that freedom is limited. Teachers for example, cannot discuss their own political or religious views with students. In addition, neither the teacher nor the student is allowed to profane. These types of restrictions are justified by saying there is a certain time and place for those subjects and school is not the proper place. School is for fundamental education and obtaining a broad view of the world without students being compelled into believing or acting based on the views of the teachers.…

    • 550 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Story “American Flag Stands for Tolerance” Acceptance is a big part in this story. Some people do not agree with burning the American flag, while others want to burn the flag. People will not always agree with what you do all the time. Some are upset that they are not doing anything about people burning the flag. The flags are burned are usually the people who are expressing themselves and have the right to and no one can do anything since they have that right.…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The young lady at Harvard had hung up the the flag to celebrate George Washington’s birthday and understandably enough the colored students at Harvard were offended. So as a retort directed towards the young lady another student put out a Nazi flag(Mansfield). Mansfield said that “You take offense by giving offense.” This is an example of how freedom of expression may just be racism and why politically correctness matters to an extent. Free speech is important in order to solve any problems at all but because people are taking politically correctness to such an extreme it is as if somebody were “there’s a black man standing.” They would be deemed as a racist when in all reality all they did was state a…

    • 622 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many individuals and groups alike that choose to express their disdain for certain actions, laws, and behaviors through the use of Freedom of Speech. The First Amendment has been cited by many protesters when demonstrating that it is their right to Freedom of expression. Freedom of Expression is powerful enough that sometimes words do not have to be spoken for a message to be conveyed. However, not all acts are protected by the First Amendment. For example, burning the flag is protected under the First Amendment but promoting the benefits of marijuana at a school event would be protected (U.S. Courts, n.d). If by chance there is a question of constitutionality regarding the First Amendment, it is usually linked to the overbreadth doctrine. Simply meaning, an individual may feel that their rights and/or others rights to Freedom of Speech may be prohibited by laws when applied under the context in which they were written. Broadrick v. Oklahoma, 413 U.S. 601 (1973) is the most quoted case that addresses issues of the overbreadth doctrine as it pertains to the First Amendment.…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In contrast to what a hate crime is, an act of free speech, protected by the First Amendment, is the right to express any opinions without censorship or restraint. An act of free speech does not necessarily mean saying something out loud. It could also mean expressing your opinions about something by using actions. Since burning a nation's flag suggests taking a stand against a political activity, it is a way of expressing your opinion. Similar to free speech, freedom of expression…

    • 819 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Newsweek's cover story by Nina Burleigh "The battle against 'hate speech' on college campuses gives rise to a generation that hates speech”, raises so many questions regarding the issue of hate speeches in college campuses. In this article, Burleigh explains that current issue about the "war on free speech" effect the current situations of college graduates. She highlights that so many things are responsible which are responsible for the recent incidents including students, management of college/universities, Department of Education and activists. Also, she provides a comparison between the George Orwell's "Thought Police" or East Germany’s Stasi with the recent climate on college campuses. Another example of hate speech she explained is the…

    • 211 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hate Speech On Campus

    • 980 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Free speech is one of the most controversial and confusing of the amendments. Throw it into a college campus setting and it’s an extremely complex matter, especially when “Hate Speech” is involved. Many people have different views and definitions on what hate speech in tales, for instance in “Hate Speech on Campus”, Joseph S. Tuman, defines it as “Written or spoken words directed towards a particular group (typically although not exclusively a minority group) with the purpose or effect of verbally harassing and harming them” (413). A personal interpretation of hate speech is speech that attacks a person or group on the basis of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. With this being said, hate speech is a form of free speech. By removing, or writing codes…

    • 980 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What would you do if a swastika was hung outside your dorm room or building by another student? How would you react to any offensive object or behavior that was considered free speech of another person? Many people do not know what they would do or how they would react and handle the situation if they found themselves in it. In the essay, “Protecting Freedom of Expression on the Campus,” author Derek Bok gives insight on the same situation which becomes a major concern at Harvard University, involving some students. Freedom of speech is protected by the First Amendment which allows many actions and personal expressions to be valid and legal. Freedom of speech should be allowed on college campuses as long as it does not cause danger of personal threats to anyone.…

    • 905 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It takes away the equal right that every american have. We should free them and send them back to where they belong. in article Heritage, Hate and and the Juvenilization of Free Speech (Stephen Ingram) The nazis was displaying their swastika flag when WW2 was on. Based on the “heritage” theory the flag should be kept because it’s a part of germany’s “Heritage” and we should keep it flying. In my opinion people in the south thinks it’s a piece of our history is true. But it’s representing the dark age where slave is allowed. It’s like the only old furniture that survived a house fire that killed someone. If I move to a new home I wouldn’t take it along with me. It will remind me of the fire. There’s nothing wrong with the furniture since it didn’t start the fire, but I don’t think people would like something to remind them of the experience. Civil war killed countless people and the flag is from that era. There’s no reason why we should keep it. From where I’m standing people who are guarding this flag is just simply because they are…

    • 603 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays