My university's free speech zone got moved to a 10x10 patch of grass behind the dumpsters last week.

I went to attend a student-led panel on housing costs and we had to stand in the alley because that grass patch is technically "designated." The admin said it was to avoid disruption but there was nobody around for three blocks. Has anyone else had their school shrink the free speech area to basically nothing?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_wendy1mo ago

That "designated" part is such a joke, right? Like they think putting a label on a tiny patch of dirt makes it officially for free speech when really it's just a way to make you feel like you're being difficult if you speak anywhere else. I had a friend at another school where they kept moving the zone further and further from the main campus until it was literally behind the maintenance shed next to the parking lot. You'd show up to protest or host a talk and it was just empty asphalt and a couple of sad bushes. The admin always says it's about "avoiding disruption" but what they really mean is they don't want anyone to actually hear what students are saying. It's like they're trying to make the whole idea of free speech so inconvenient that nobody bothers to use it anymore.

gray8751mo ago

I read an article a few months back from some legal scholar who argued that these "free speech zones" often don't hold up in court because they're basically a way to silence people by making them impossible to hear. The whole idea of putting speech in a designated box like that goes against what the First Amendment was meant to protect. It's not about disruption, it's about controlling the message and making sure nobody has to deal with anything uncomfortable. Your friend's story about the zone being stuck out by the maintenance shed just proves it.

jamesf291mo ago

puts it right out in the open how fake those zones really are.