Drawing expressions free#

But real social change comes from hard work to address the underlying causes of inequality and bigotry, not from purified discourse. Restricting such speech may be attractive to college administrators as a quick fix to address campus tensions. But merely offensive or bigoted speech does not rise to that level, and determining when conduct crosses that line is a legal question that requires examination on a case-by-case basis. To be clear, the First Amendment does not protect behavior on campus that crosses the line into targeted harassment or threats, or that creates a pervasively hostile environment for vulnerable students.

Drawing expressions free#

Inculcating constitutional values - in particular, the value of free expression - should be nothing less than a core mission of any college or university. As Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson wrote in 1943 about the role of schools in our society: “That they are educating the young for citizenship is reason for scrupulous protection of Constitutional freedoms of the individual, if we are not to strangle the free mind at its source and teach youth to discount important principles of our government as mere platitudes.” Remarkably, Justice Jackson was referring to grade school students. Where racist, misogynist, homophobic, and transphobic speech is concerned, the ACLU believes that more speech - not less - is the answer most consistent with our constitutional values.īut the right to free speech is not just about the law it’s also a vital part of our civic education. Since its founding in 1920, the ACLU has fought for the free expression of all ideas, popular or unpopular. Speech that deeply offends our morality or is hostile to our way of life warrants the same constitutional protection as other speech because the right of free speech is indivisible: When we grant the government the power to suppress controversial ideas, we are all subject to censorship by the state. How much we value the right of free speech is put to its severest test when the speaker is someone we disagree with most. An open society depends on liberal education, and the whole enterprise of liberal education is founded on the principle of free speech. Such restrictions deprive students of their right to invite speech they wish to hear, debate speech with which they disagree, and protest speech they find bigoted or offensive. Restrictions on speech by public colleges and universities amount to government censorship, in violation of the Constitution. The First Amendment to the Constitution protects speech no matter how offensive its content.