Academic freedom has been at the forefront of debate when dealing with Free Speech on public colleges campuses. Through a series of cases, the Supreme Court has ruled on numerous cases recognizing student and faculty rights to academic freedom (354 U.S. 234). In a series of cases the Court has acknowledge Tinker as applying to both public schools as well as public colleges, as well as defining academic freedom and a recognizing student and faculty rights to free expression of ideas, teachings, and other writing pertaining to scholarship and ideals (385 U.S. 589) (408 U.S. 169). Though broad, the Court has laid the ground work to student free speech rights pertaining to the First Amendment. A. SWEEZY V. NEW HAMPSHIRE (1957) The case centers …show more content…
As a frequently cited case for academic freedom, Keyishian provides a standard for academic freedom while also citing the that regulations with a potential chilling effect over freedom of discussion are unconstitutional. Public colleges and universities are cited as needing freedom of open discussion, research, teachings, and published materials (385 U.S. 589). C. HEALY V. JAMES (1972) At the Central Connecticut State College, a group of students organized a campus chapter of the Students for Democratic Society (SDS). The SDS was known as a militaristic “anti-establishment” group that posed civil disobedience as well as violent disruption in higher education. The students advocating for the creation of the chapter filed for official acknowledgement by the committee for campus organizations. The committee indorsed the organization’s officiation. However, the president withdrew the support stating his thoughts of an adverse impact with the group against school policy (408 U.S. 169). The students filed suit, stating that their rejection violated their First Amendment rights to freedom of expression. The federal court ruled in the college’s favor, in which the Supreme Court granted certiorari (408 U.S. …show more content…
First, in Sweezy, the Court iterated that state concerns about the subversive intent of an individual does not trump the Bill of Rights, there is a vital need for academic freedom in higher education, and providing four freedoms provided by Justice Frankfurter in order to retain an environment within public colleges and universities for discovery and free inquiry: who may teach, what academics may be taught, how they are taught, and who may study (354 U.S. 234). In Keyishian, the Court found regulations felt to be vague and with an adverse chilling effect on student speech to be unconstitutional, reiterating the need for discovery and free inquiry while also defining academic freedom as: “a special concern of the First Amendment which does not tolerate laws that cast a pall of orthodoxy over the classroom” (385 U.S. 603). Within Healy, the Court recognized that Tinker pertains just as much to Public universities as it does public schools. This is momentous as Tinker ushered in student free speech able to be regulated only when the speech has the potential to cause a disruption or interference towards class learning and events. The Supreme Court in Healy also was able to draw the line between advocacy, which is protected speech, and action which is not (408 U.S. 169). Overall, these cases bring forth standards and
In the history of the Supreme Court, there have been many First Amendment cases that outline if exercises of free speech and expression are constitutional or unconstitutional. One of the most paramount 1st amendment cases is that of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969). This significant case helped shape the extension of symbolic speech, as well as ensure the freedom of speech and expression to students in schools.
Regardless of how the phrase and the autonomy of the First Amendment is challenged, religion and the need to maintain separation of church and state has been a great contest of the United States legal systems. The court system typically will remove itself from decisions within the higher education institution and leave such decisions to the administrators themselves to make the best decision for the organization, unless those topics in question legitimately violate a federal statute or clause related to the Constitution directly (McFarlane, 2012). Therefore, we will examine the application of the First Amendment within higher education.
This document supports limiting online student speech because the court ruled that even though it happened out of school, the school’s reason was strong enough to justify their actions toward K.K.
As in the first case discussed, the issue before the court was also based on the first amendment of the Constitution. The question before the court was; “Do school officials have the right to restrict the free expression of students without first showing that such expression will disrupt the operation of the school?”. After deliberation, the court overturned the decisions of the lower courts and determined that the school board’s actions violated the first and fourteenth
Despite their opinions, free speech was a great way in this situation for students to rally together and publically inform the rest of campus of their beliefs. In the school newspaper, The Daily Emerald, CJ Ciaramelle wrote “About 300 students from across the campus community — student unions, Greek Life, the ASUO, the Survival Center, the Women’s Center — showed up at the meeting to protest the Forum” (1). Although the majority of people protested against the forum the right to free speech, it is important because it allows students to make decisions on their own and invite students to do the same.
Des Moines is an important case for free speech in the United States. It affirms that students don’t lose their rights when they go to school. However, it also affirmed that schools can limit speech that “materially disrupts classwork or involves substantial disorder or invasion of the rights of others” (Tinker v. Des Moines, 1969). However, the Court has ruled that there are times that the school can limit speech. In 1986, the Supreme Court ruled in Bethel v. Fraser that students can be disciplined for using vulgar and offensive language in school (Gooden, Eckes, Mead, McNeal, & Torres, 2013, p. 25). This case differed from Tinker v. Des Moines because that case was about political speech or expression. Another example of where school can limit the First Amendment is school sponsored newspapers. This was affirmed by the Court in Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier (1988). That decision stated that schools can reasonably limit the content of school-sponsored newspapers (Gooden, Eckes, Mead, McNeal, & Torres, 2013, p.
To avoid disturbance and disruption and to create and maintain a safe learning environment, public schools often adopt policies that forbid certain acts on the part of students. Included in many of these policies are prohibitions on hate speech. The opinion of the court in Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) broadly stated that students retain their first amendment rights when they enter the school, but the breadth of that statement is not without limit. Schools may narrowly curtail free speech rights to the extent necessary to maintain good
The decision in this case seems to have left public school students’ free speech rights in an ambiguous state. The Justices in support of the majority opinion—Justices Thomas, Alito, Kennedy, and Scalia—were thus
In his book, Unlearning Liberty (2014) Greg Lukianoff, President of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) asserts that violations of free speech— whether by students, faculty, or administration—will have devastating effects in greater society. Lukianoff supports his assertion by describing cases he has seen throughout his career at FIRE. From administration punishing students to professors getting fired for clearly protected speech. Lukianoff’s purpose is to point out the misguided lessons about freedom that are being taught on campus and to encourage his audience to stand up for freedom on campus. Lukianoff writes in an earnest tone to an audience who recognizes the importance of freedom in America society.
Freedom of Expression is a right that all Americans can joy on a daily basis, now imagine if it were a controlled right? That doesn’t make it a right, more so something that we can use when the government says so. In November of 1968, 4 students organized a silent protest against the US policies in Vietnam, which ended with suspension from their local schools. The issue was brought up in court, which led to split consensus. The majority opinion of the Supreme Court was that the expression of speech couldn’t be prohibited unless it was a disruption and harmed the rights of others. The dissent opinion stated that if freedom of speech was without a limit to an extent, who says it could lead to school being a platform for the exercise of free speech instead of education. The argument came to the conclusion of defining the rights and freedom of speech for children in school. I agree with the majority opinion, seeing the freedom of expression shouldn’t be controlled and such.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom; and no such thing as public liberty, without freedom of speech.” Indeed, free speech is a large block upon which this nation was first constructed, and remains a hard staple of America today; and in few places is that freedom more often utilized than on a college campus. However, there are limitations to our constitutional liberties on campus and they, most frequently, manifest themselves in the form of free speech zones, hate speech and poor university policy. Most school codes are designed to protect students, protect educators and to promote a stable, non-disruptive and non-threatening learning environment. However, students’ verbal freedom
Universities that have been trying to quash free speech have encountered some court reversals of their attempts. But campus leftists have not given up. The newest university gambit to limit speech mirrors the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines concerning sexual harassment in the workplace, (creating a hostile environment) or they attempt to base their speech code on the "fighting words" doctrine enunciated by the Court in Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire
The functionality and success of the American democracy is dictated by the fundamental rights outlined in the Constitution. These rights have been utilized by American citizens on numerous occasions throughout the centuries when advocating for these critical rights. However, questions started to arise when high school students started exercising these rights in their high schools, specifically their right to free speech and expression. The right of high school students to freedom of speech became an issue when their speech began to disrupt the school day and, as a result, teachers began to restrict it. Tinker vs. Des Moines, the landmark case advocating for students’ right to free speech, as well as Bethel vs. Fraser, the case ruling that students don’t have the same first amendment rights as adults, have been instrumental in dictating the outcome of future court cases regarding the right to freedom of speech of high school students. The exchange of information and exposure to new and different ideas is critical to students’ education and should be protected. However, if the freedom of speech infringes upon the need to maintain a safe learning environment, should it be protected? In my opinion, interpretations of Tinker have proved to be too restrictive on the First Amendment rights of students. The right to freedom of speech is a core right of the American
The subject of student rights has caused a lot of confusion and anger for decades now. There are two different sides that everyone seems to fall into. Some people want the constitutional rights of students to be fully protected within the school. The other side believes that, as a public institution, schools should regulate what is said or done by students to protect everyone involved. This is where it gets confusing, because it is hard to draw the line between what is allowed or not. The three most interesting topics that I chose to cover are a student’s right to free speech, religion within the school and student privacy.
Freedom of speech is more than just the right to say what one pleases. Freedom of speech is the right to voice your opinion on certain topics or dilemmas around you. This basic right given to us in the First Amendment is being challenged by colleges who encourage “freedom of speech” with certain restrictions.