Paper Topic:

The First Amendment

Speech Codes on College Campuses

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion , or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech , or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble , and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances (Emory Law School . Reading these words of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution , one is led to believe that the constitutional protection for the freedom of speech is absolute . The First Amendment is explicit : even Congress , which has been vested with

br All legislative Powers ' under the Constitution , has no authority to formulate laws for the purpose of restricting the people 's freedom of speech (Emory Law School . If it is guaranteed under the Constitution therefore , one should assume that colleges and universities , by virtue of their being centers of higher learning , ought to be bastions of freedom of speech . This requisite becomes clear merely by examining the missions of these institutions of learning

Learning , especially higher learning , could only be achieved in an atmosphere where a free market of ideas exists . This refers to a place where the free expression and articulation of varied experiences opinions , beliefs , and even ideologies are not only encouraged but valued . This is necessary because only the healthy debates which result from the clash of unrestricted arguments and counter-arguments every time new ideas are offered for review , criticism , and approval , could separate truth from fabrications , disinformation , or misinformation . In this context , every statement of opinion , every proposition , every interpretation of events , no matter how far-fetched they might first appear to be , deserves to be heard by others and defended by its author if only to give chance for knowledge to develop and the process of learning to prosper . This freedom of thought , expression , and of speech is at the very heart of the dynamics of universal growth and development , and the academe , especially the country 's colleges and universities , being the centers of higher learning , should be its leading advocates and practitioners . Put more succinctly , Freedom of thought and expression is essential to any institution of higher learning . Universities and colleges exist not only to transmit existing knowledge . Equally , they interpret , explore , and expand that knowledge by testing the old and proposing the new (American Association of University Professors

Hence , any attempt to set down restrictions on this free market of ideas thwarts its growth and reduces its output of new knowledge by inhibiting the dynamic forces that should be working energetically . In other words , restrictions tend to ruin the whole process . This is the case for colleges and universities in the country and elsewhere . These institutions of higher learning make up the basic components of the free market of ideas and as such , are intrinsic to the process of generating knowledge . Therefore , if we really want the process to work , if we truly wish the forces to interact dynamically in the free market of ideas and generate knowledge , the judicious choice should...

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