Those who composed the Bill of Rights handled it brilliantly. To narrowly define the rights of citizens would invite negative rather than positive debates. In the Bill of Rights very few exact definitions were made. For instance, the First Amendment’s right, that entitles each man, women, and child in this nation to free speech, is left open to interpretation. No man can read the lines in the amendment and give a definition of free speech. This openness is a component of this right that makes it truly free. If the authors of the Bill of Rights determined what is or is not free speech then doors to abuse by our own government would have been opened. Instead, the First Amendment has been left open for personal translation to a certain point. Still, in this great nation the right to free speech is abused time and time again. One of the largest areas where limitations on speech have crossed the line between acceptable and abuse, is in higher education. The freedom of speech is the essential key to education. It presents different ideas to all and allows debates to be presented to each individual. This provides for the individual acquisition of truth and knowledge. To abuse this power deteriorates a student’s ability to think for himself, creating a sense of dependency. It is not coincidence that most developing countries with poor education are the same countries where the voice of the people is silenced, as if they were ignorant children, by corrupt government officials.
As an intern in high school education, one of the questions I asked my supervising teacher was: what makes a good teacher? His answer was, a teacher that gets students to think for themselves. He further illustrated the point that provoking debate persuades students to gain knowledge themselves. If a teacher provides information that causes a student to become engaged, and leaves it open to debate, the student will then search for ways in which he can contradict the teacher. The student will be thinking, and then be entitled to voice an opinion. The student is enabled to figure out for himself what he views as truth. If one desires a higher education one cannot achieve it through a closed-minded system such as the Residential Orientation Program at the University of Delaware. The program advisors used humiliation and embarrassment as techniques in an attempt to force thought behavior along with conformity in regards to race, sexual orientation and other social problems, accepting no discussion of other views. If an institution of higher learning dictates teaching methods, and forces ideas upon students, then it will lack in its diversity of ideas and methods of learning which prevents students from seeking knowledge and finding the truth for themselves. On the other hand, an institution that provides a variety of courses and curriculum, open to debate, will be successful in provoking thought and forming independent minds. The advisors at the residential halls in Delaware forced students to accept their ideals as truth and trapped students in an environment that deterred thought. This is why a free voice is imperative to anyone who desires a higher education.
Every day the voices of truly intelligent teachers and students are drowned out by the sound of binding chains. The First Amendment is being abused on campuses like that of the University of Delaware. Students and teachers are being denied access to the debate floor by those trying to force conformity. It is no one’s job but our own to control how we think and learn. When the residential advisors at the University of Delaware stepped over their bounds by enforcing their ideals of conformity, they took it into their hands to dictate what is or is not acceptable speech. Our First Amendment was created to prevent any entity from dictating terms of speech. It is the right of the individual alone to determine what he or she will agree with. The students’ rights in that hall in Delaware were infringed by advisors who sought to force the students to accept what the advisors perceived to be the truth. Clearly, forcing someone to accept what is said, while denying anyone the right to disagree, is abusing the right to free speech. Forcing someone to believe something is true, without discussion, eliminates the thought-provoking procedure that allows us to develop our own thoughts and knowledge. Therefore, abusers of this right have stolen the right to think as well as speak. This oppresses education and does not allow free learning.
An additional harmful effect of the oppression or force of voice in education is the neglect of a student’s opportunity to challenge opinions. Hayden Barnes, a student at Valdosta StateUniversity, challenged the university’s president on an issue concerning the construction of a parking garage for the school. Hayden was irrationally punished by expulsion because he was said to be “a clear and present danger” to the university even though no materials presented contained any evidence of threats towards the school. This was a clear, forceful and cowardly attack on Barnes’ right to state an alternate opinion. What the president says is what goes, and nothing anyone else says is allowed to change that. It is acceptable for the university president to have an opinion; however, it is not acceptable for the president to compromise a student’s education because that student decided to share his challenging point of view with others. This action reduced the spread of information merely because it was diverse and controversial. Education is not supposed to limit the information that one can receive or distribute, even if it challenges what is perceived by others to be correct. If one forces what one believes and allows no room for challenging influences, that person or organization must be fearful that an opposing point of view may be discovered to be right. A “free speech” education must consist of many sides of ideas being freely argued so that one can choose for oneself what to accept as truth.
Despite instances where the right to speak freely has been violated, many colleges and universities have excelling students with bright, open minds. They are intelligent because they have heard varieties of opinions from different teachers who have also developed their thoughts in the same manner. These professors and teachers have determined what they see as truth, and encourage students to do the same. It is the duty and responsibility of an educational institution to insure and protect the right of a pure and uninfluenced voice for the educator and the pupil. Schools open to debate and varying ideas achieve greatness in academics. In contrast, schools that limit or determine what can be said damage the integrity of the educational environment by manipulating thought process.
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