Most College Students Clueless About the First Amendment

[jimnyc]

So many anymore think that ANY speech to ANYONE is "free" speech. They think that applies to NFL stadiums, colleges and high schools & anywhere else they want to disrupt others, offend others, shout others down or whatever it is that day - and it's ALL protected by the 1st amendment. I wonder how many would TRULY know what the 1st means if they were asked, and what right it actually extends to them?

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Most College Students Clueless About the First Amendment

Last week at Columbia University, conservative pundit Tommy Robinson attempted to give a speech on mass immigration in Europe. Instead, the event devolved into chaos. Students consistently shouted down Robinson, effectively preventing him from speaking as he Skyped into the campus auditorium from the United Kingdom. He gave up on trying to speak and instead fielded questions from protesters.

“This is our free speech, this is our First Amendment right,” repeated some of the protesters as they shouted over Robinson.

It was clear that many students had a warped understanding of the First Amendment.

To be fair, an argument could be made that, because Robinson spoke before students at a private university, First Amendment protections might not apply. But student protesters didn’t raise the specter of that concern. Indeed, their only way of justifying their actions was to claim that they were expressing their “free speech” rights in shouting down Robinson.

That is not free speech, but in fact an abridgment of someone else’s rights.

This anti-free speech behavior is increasingly common at private and public schools alike, as documented by websites like The College Fix and Campus Reform. In an essay for National Review, public policy researcher Stanley Kurtz dubbed this the “Year of the Shout-Down.” He likewise noted that protesters tend to justify their actions with chants about the First Amendment.

Do protesters, and students at large, really understand the First Amendment?

No, they don’t. In a newly published study, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) found that only 46% of college students understand that "hate speech" is indeed protected by the First Amendment. Of the 54% of students who did not know, 29% falsely believe the First Amendment doesn’t cover hate speech, and 25% just did not know.

Rest - https://pjmedia.com/trending/college...rst-amendment/

[revelarts]

seem to be a pattern,
Americans who don't like the free speech of others, "shouting down" or pressuring Private orgs to shut down or fire those that some group FEELS shouldn't be allowed fre speech at "their" venue or events.

And each side wants to justify their actions as legit.
the nuance of tactics my differ but the result is the same, Someone else is NOT ALLOWED to express their views.

[darin]

US universities - where free thought, wisdom, curiosity, and honest debate go to die.