Free Speech Importance in College

The First Amendment of the United States clearly states it “prevents the government from making laws which respect an establishment of religion, prohibit the free exercise of religion, or abridge the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the right to peaceably assemble, or the right to petition…” Although this amendment was passed over 200 years ago, in 1791, the limitations on citizens’ free speech and measures of censorship are still highly controversial and widely discussed. Particularly in the realm of higher education, many educational institutions feel that censorship over their staff members and students is necessary for their college campus to operate in an unproblematic fashion. What those institutions fail to realize is that placing restrictions on those pursuing higher education is not only unconstitutional, but very limiting to a student’s learning opportunities.  

Silencing students who are pursuing higher education based on the ideal that their opinion ‘might offend others’ only causes students to put limitations on their own thinking capacity. This, in turn, greatly effects the next generation of future leaders. Most students go to college and sacrifice their precious time and money to learn more about their interests and gain additional knowledge. For many of the students traveling to another state or country for college, it is their first real interaction with people of many varying backgrounds and ethnicities, which is often very beneficial. By experiencing these different cultures and viewpoints, it ultimately aids an individual in becoming a well-rounded person who can, in the long run, interact with people in a much more respectful and efficient way.  

On the contrary, placing censorship on these students and their right to free speech only disservices them by providing a place where all ideologies are unwelcomed and not open for discussion. Although a student’s ideals may be thought of as ignorant or rude, it ultimately helps students to communicate more efficiently with each other when they are able to hear one another’s explanations of views, rather than just staying silent and pretending that there aren’t opinions. With the education system constantly censoring students to the point that they never converse with those different than them, who more than likely have opposing viewpoints on a variety of topics, students will eventually be hurt in the professional setting. For example, companies value educated employees just as much as they value those who are well-rounded and can properly and professionally conflict in the work place.  

These uncomfortable conversations are what ultimately help students progress in the real world, which is also commonly known as post-college.  Such restrictions do not exist in the mindsets of those who are truly successful. Often times, those who choose to unapologetically speak up for what they believe in are the ones who are essentially awarded for such. In the typical experience of the average child, ridicule has been given from their own peers for expressing their differing viewpoint. After being ridiculed a number of times, it is only common that a person stops speaking up and chooses to silence themselves to avoid mockery and taunting comments. Many believe that college will be different in the way that their individuality will be praised, but instead of breaking that chain and allowing students a space to express their opinion, they conform to this harmful norm and continue to discourage students from their individuality by taking away their right to free speech. In the same sense, students will then automatically silence themselves after being threatened and scoffed by powerful colleges to keep their views to themselves. These institutions think that by “protecting” students from “harmful speech” it is beneficial to their own experience in college, but instead it robs students from flourishing and expanding their creativity. Society constantly tells students to ‘be creative,’ but takes away their voice to express their creativity. History has the tendency to repeat itself, and it is common that the ones who challenged normalcy, stereotypes, and popular ideologies are the ones who ultimately succeeded. There’s a reason why “thinking inside the box” has never gotten anyone to such high levels of success- because it is simply repetitive and expected.  

Diverse college campuses can be the best place to challenge stereotypes and expand knowledge of those with varying cultures, ages and socioeconomic statuses. Students conversing with one another with different ethnicities can learn from each other in such a manner that a textbook could never manage to. College is a very critical part in a person’s life- a four-year experience that will be remembered for the remainder of a person’s life. And rather than having those four years be plagued by students being afraid to speak out, they should be encouraged to share opinions and use the First Amendment right to contribute to feedback and make drastic changes on campus and in communities.  

By censoring students, institutions are not only infringing on the constitutional rights of their students, but also taking away their opportunity to learn about new experiences. They are conforming to the flawed societal view of silencing those who may have a different opinion or ideology.