Tipsheet

Freedom: Florida School Wants To Make Entire Campus A Free Speech Zone

As we continue to hear about the legions of precious cupcakes fighting to keep differing opinions, especially those that veer off the progressive path, from being tolerated on campus, on Florida school is pushing back. They’re fighting the snowflake hordes of Mordor. Florida Atlantic University has a free speech zone, but the local student governing body recently passed a resolution to make the current free speech zone encompass the entire campus. No safe spaces, but you, your ideas, and whether you have the maturity to defend them. I’m sure these cupcakes will be afraid that some of their peers are Trump supporters. Yes, you are free to pick the presidential candidate of your choice without fear of retribution. Some might be pro-life—yes, a sizable portion of the country, about half, view abortion as infanticide (they’re not wrong). Some people might have differing opinions on marriage. And a few students might–dare I say–support Second Amendment rights. Deal with it.

My friend and fellow blogger Bethany Bowra attends FAU, and wrote about the resolution that passed last week. Oh, and it wasn’t like the Obamacare vote–it passed with 91% of student government (Via Bethany Bowra/Outset Magazine):

Enter Florida Atlantic University, where students are taking a stand for free speech and are ready to take their opinions to our administration. Our Student Government passed a resolution last week that would eliminate our free-speech lawn and define the entire campus as a free-speech zone.

I attend FAU and am politically active on campus. More than once, I’ve run into difficulty in putting on events because of the university’s restriction of political events to a designated free-speech lawn, tucked away on one side of campus. This lawn must be reserved at least ten business days in advance and its use approved by the administration; failure to reserve it results in your inability to use it. Its location makes it difficult to reach the greatest number of students, since only a few buildings are close enough to it to make it visible to passersby.

Thomas De Maio is a graduate student at FAU and serves as a member of Student Government. He authored a resolution that would eliminate our free speech lawn and allow free speech on all campus grounds, excluding only recreational and athletic buildings as off-limits. Below is a copy of the resolution, which passed by 91% of the student legislative body.

Bowra interviewed De Maio about the impetus for this resolution, where he said, “I think it is important for universities to protect student’s constitutional rights. Too often students are afraid to express themselves on college campuses, especially those who have political views that may not be popular with professors. I want students to feel comfortable expressing themselves throughout all college campuses.”

This is great. I wholeheartedly support any student, school, or institution that makes such declarations of free speech. It's holding the line against the nonsensical drivel coming from the snowflakes– folks who just can’t stand why everyone can’t be like them, think like them, or bow down to their dictatorial standards of how we should behave in America. This is a great country–let’s not turn it into North Korea. Sadly, in some schools, that’s the atmosphere. Hopefully, FAU will deliver a dome shot to that hellish left wing ethos.