Freedom Of Speech On College Campuses

Freedom of speech is one of the defining features of America, and Trump’s presidency has generated a toxic environment for those who disagree with each other. Numerous college campuses have begun restricting freedom of speech to lessen conflict, costing some students the right to pray or peacefully promote their beliefs (Maloney Jr. 5). Most recently, protesters at Middlebury College in Vermont prevented Charles Murray, a conservative political scientist, from speaking and injured a professor who was escorting him off the campus (Krantz 2). The violent backlash at Middlebury isn’t isolated to this campus, unfortunately, and similar incidents have caused students to feel the need to “‘shut up’ in class out of fear of being targeted for harboring inappropriate views” (Downs 3). College legislators are confronted with the challenge of maintaining freedom of speech while protecting the emotional, ideological, and physical safety of their students. While certain viewpoints that offend people may be prejudiced, is it right to limit what can and cannot be vocalized? As long as statements are not meant to …show more content…
The discomfort of expressing one’s true opinions isn’t even isolated to college campuses. As a relatively liberal person in the wholly conservative Highlands Ranch, I never know when it’s ‘appropriate’ to voice my opinions because I don’t want to be a “social justice snowflake” or whatever term has recently been coined to sully liberalism. The problem is that most people, including myself, only feel comfortable sharing their opinions with like-minded people which only serves to reinforce our ideals without considering other sides of an argument and doesn’t help us relate to those who disagree with us. If anything, it dehumanizes other arguments until people are holistically represented by their political and social