Free Speech For Thee, Not Just For Me
So, raise your hand if you know anyone that went to the University of Maryland. Yeah, me too. I know a couple of people. And if the alums you know are like the alums I know, you inevitably got that annoying phrase..."Fear the turtle!" I know...I didn't know what the hell they were talking about either. I always knew the Maryland mascot was something called a Terrapin, but in my defense, I had no idea that a terrapin was, in fact, a turtle. I mean, for all I knew a terrapin was some kind of rodent. Or maybe a cracked crab! Pretty good, huh? We are talking about the state of Maryland here, right? Nope...it's a turtle. You're an idiot. And what is the one thing we know about turtles, boys and girls? Yep, it pulls its head within its shell and hides when things get dicey. Which brings us to our story...
It would seem The University of Maryland is currently facing a lawsuit
after it unilaterally canceled ALL student-expressive activities planned for
October 7. The move came after the university's president, Darryll Pines, received "numerous
calls" expressing outrage over events organized by campus groups sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, to mark the anniversary of Hamas' massacre of more than 1,000 Israeli
civilians last year.
But Pines' decision hardly had the effect of suppressing dissent. Less than two weeks after his announcement, the University of Maryland Students for Justice in Palestine (UMD-SJP) chapter filed the above mentioned lawsuit against the university, arguing that Pines' cancellation of all student expressive activities on October 7 would be an obvious violation of their First Amendment rights.
"On one day next month, no student-selected speakers will be allowed to present at any of the [University System of Maryland] campuses, serving more than 150,000 students—a prior restraint so sweeping only a cataclysm could justify it," the lawsuit reads. "The First Amendment does not allow campus officials to establish free expression-black-out days, even on occasions that may be emotional or politically polarizing."
According to the suit, UMD-SJP had sought to make a reservation in July to use a university green space to "hold a vigil commemorating the thousands of lives lost since the initiation of Israel's current attack on Gaza." However, during a meeting on August 19, the university's president and vice president told the group they "had been receiving pressure from groups inside and outside of the University to cancel UMD-SJP's reservation, but that they were committed to protecting the free speech of students," according to the suit.
After that meeting, calls to suppress student speech increased, including an online petition with more than 27,000 signatures that argued that allowing UMD-SJP's event to go forward would be like "granting permission to white supremacists to burn a cross on campus on the day commemorating the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." By September 1, the administration's expression-protecting stance had eroded, and Pines announced that all expressive activities would be banned for the day.
In an amicus brief (a legal document filed by a third party with an interest in the case but not directly involved in the litigation) supporting the lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and the Knight Foundation pointed out how absurd Pines' attempt to stifle all student speech for one day is.
"The University cannot seriously purport to ban every single expressive event that might take place throughout the University of Maryland system on that day: every concert, dance, play, poetry reading, art exhibition, debate, fundraiser, club meeting, protest, etc. taking place across its campuses—even for a single day," the brief reads. "Such a ban would be impossible to enforce and would amount practically to a total shutdown of the university's core functions. Plainly, the University means to restrict expressive events about Israel and Palestine on October 7, and will enforce its ban on 'expressive events' with that priority, on those contents, in mind."
"That the University's censorship applies to a single, uniquely resonant day only highlights the problem," the brief continues. "By silencing speech at its most salient moment, the restriction directly contravenes the public interest in robust, uninhibited debate. Blessing such a restriction would get the First Amendment precisely backwards."
But Pines' decision hardly had the effect of suppressing dissent. Less than two weeks after his announcement, the University of Maryland Students for Justice in Palestine (UMD-SJP) chapter filed the above mentioned lawsuit against the university, arguing that Pines' cancellation of all student expressive activities on October 7 would be an obvious violation of their First Amendment rights.
"On one day next month, no student-selected speakers will be allowed to present at any of the [University System of Maryland] campuses, serving more than 150,000 students—a prior restraint so sweeping only a cataclysm could justify it," the lawsuit reads. "The First Amendment does not allow campus officials to establish free expression-black-out days, even on occasions that may be emotional or politically polarizing."
According to the suit, UMD-SJP had sought to make a reservation in July to use a university green space to "hold a vigil commemorating the thousands of lives lost since the initiation of Israel's current attack on Gaza." However, during a meeting on August 19, the university's president and vice president told the group they "had been receiving pressure from groups inside and outside of the University to cancel UMD-SJP's reservation, but that they were committed to protecting the free speech of students," according to the suit.
After that meeting, calls to suppress student speech increased, including an online petition with more than 27,000 signatures that argued that allowing UMD-SJP's event to go forward would be like "granting permission to white supremacists to burn a cross on campus on the day commemorating the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." By September 1, the administration's expression-protecting stance had eroded, and Pines announced that all expressive activities would be banned for the day.
In an amicus brief (a legal document filed by a third party with an interest in the case but not directly involved in the litigation) supporting the lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and the Knight Foundation pointed out how absurd Pines' attempt to stifle all student speech for one day is.
"The University cannot seriously purport to ban every single expressive event that might take place throughout the University of Maryland system on that day: every concert, dance, play, poetry reading, art exhibition, debate, fundraiser, club meeting, protest, etc. taking place across its campuses—even for a single day," the brief reads. "Such a ban would be impossible to enforce and would amount practically to a total shutdown of the university's core functions. Plainly, the University means to restrict expressive events about Israel and Palestine on October 7, and will enforce its ban on 'expressive events' with that priority, on those contents, in mind."
"That the University's censorship applies to a single, uniquely resonant day only highlights the problem," the brief continues. "By silencing speech at its most salient moment, the restriction directly contravenes the public interest in robust, uninhibited debate. Blessing such a restriction would get the First Amendment precisely backwards."
"Given the overwhelming outreach, from multiple
perspectives, I requested a routine and targeted safety assessment for this day
to understand the risks and safety measures associated with planned
events," Pines wrote in
a statement earlier this month. While he noted that there was "no
immediate or active threat," he still decided to "host only
university-sponsored events that promote reflection on this day," with all
other "expressive events" canceled.
So there we have it. Instead of doing what a university is supposed to do, which is encourage free thought and free speech, even thought and speech that is abhorrent to a civil and educated mind, the University of Maryland is calling for a total ban on free expression. And don't even think about e-mailing me with the idiotic caveat, "C'mon, Peter. It's only one day. Lighten up!" I'll ignore the simple fact that there is no way they can stop free thought, or students talking amongst themselves in dorm rooms, etc. But more importantly, Maryland is a public institution, and because of that simple fact, they are legally mandated to observe government policies/rules/regulations with regard to little things like, oh, I don't know, the FIRST AMENDMENT!!
For the love of John Adams, have we become so afraid of speech and thought that may be alien to our democratic ideals? Are we so incapable of making a coherent argument against the mindless totalitarian impulse that encroaches upon us that we just throw up our hands and say "Fuck it," and try to ban it? Really?? I have to be honest with you...I thought we were better than that.
As I am typing these words, Iran has just launched approximately 200 ballistic missiles at Israel. They are doing this in support of their allies, Hamas. That's the same Hamas that started this whole chapter in the ongoing war in the Middle East, which pits Israel against just about everyone else; the same Hamas who attacked Israel with no provocation, and raped, murdered, beheaded, and took civilians hostages. Then, they killed many of the hostages when Israel came looking for them.
This is the same terrorist organization that students at the University of Maryland (and many other bastions of so-called higher learning) are suing their university for, so as to hold a protest, vigil, or whatever it is they feel like doing. I say, Let them protest. I'm serious! Because, you know what? The First Amendment doesn't mean a damn thing if it doesn't apply to everyone.
Don't get me wrong, I'm being a little selfish here; because if these kids are allowed to protest then I get to type a piece saying what mindless and disillusioned human beings they are. That's MY inalienable right. But if the administration continues on this road and denies its students their First Amendment rights, I then get to type something like..."Maybe Maryland alumni should change their annoying phrase, "Fear the Turtle" to something more appropriate, like "We Fear Free Speech!!"
write to Peter: magtour@icloud.com
Comments
Post a Comment