By: Alex Reiner ’18

Since the election, many Americans have expressed fear that the Trump administration would encroach upon their basic constitutional rights by preventing abortions or denying a pathway to citizenship. But a more vital constitutional right being strongly violated by college campuses and ignored by American citizens is freedom of speech.
America’s foundation revolves around the concept that every citizen, no matter his or her beliefs, cannot be limited in speech based on how others feel about the statements. Within the past year at Wisconsin, Yale and other colleges, however, conservative speakers have been denied such a right when on college campuses. These speakers are not preaching violence, terror or hatred. Rather, they are expressing their beliefs that cause some college students to feel uncomfortable.
Ben Shapiro, who is known to be a vocal conservative and is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Wire, had to be escorted out of the University of Wisconsin by the police in November of 2016. He was giving a speech called “Dismantling Safe Spaces: Facts Don’t Care About Your Feelings,” which is not even one of his most controversial viewpoints. Yet, because of his conservative viewpoint, students did not feel comfortable with his opinion, according to The Badger Herald.
In March of 2017, Dr. Charles Murray, a conservative author, was invited by students to speak at Middlebury College. However, liberal audience members shouted over Murray as he tried to speak and as he was escorted out of the building by administration. Afterward, he was “physically and violently confronted by a group of protesters,” Middlebury spokesman, Bill Burger, said. According to Burger, the protesters shook and attempted to tip Murray’s car.
It is true, not all speech is protected by the first amendment. For instance, fighting words are unprotected speech. However, not all offensive, discriminatory or derogatory language is hate speech, which means some insulting language qualifies as protected speech. In fact, in Texas v. Johnson, the Rehnquist Court ruled that speech cannot be limited based on public opinion.
Colleges do have the authority or right to invite or disinvite speakers, however, they are in the wrong when they allow their students to prevent speakers from expressing themselves. Even if the majority object to what a speaker preaches, there will be some students who align with the speaker’s opinions. Colleges should encourage students to hear a variety of viewpoints, rather than keep a closed-minded view of policies.
When conservative speakers are prevented from speaking at liberal colleges, conservative students are sent the message that they are unable to express themselves freely. Without conservatives being able to express themselves, it denounces their right of free speech. It creates an environment where having a certain opinion is morally wrong. Nobody should be told how to think or what to believe.
I do not necessarily agree with everything the aforementioned conservative speakers say, but I do believe that every American is granted the fundamental right of expression. This cannot and must not be ignored. Much of the population is being denied the right to truly convey their opinions, yet American citizens have turned a blind eye, and, frankly, it is quite disgusting.
While college students exercise their basic right through protesting these conservative speakers, they are then violating the right to free speech. Conservative Americans should and must be allowed to freely speak their minds.