Colleges are supposed to be zones of discussion. On a
college campus free speech is meant to be supported to drive the learning
process. And yet they are not. Why?
How they limit speech: Many of the college campuses in the
United States do not allow free speech save within a specified area.
Usually this area is small, out of the way and thus the least likely to
be encountered or seen by the rest of the student body. It seems odd
doesn't it? That they would confine speech to a specific area.
Well, this zone is also used for any protesters of a cause too, and for
advocacy groups that the campus my not necessarily agree with. Meanwhile
the accepted groups can set up club booths in the main common areas to ask
people to join while embracing their free speech rights based on their club or
society and what they do. So this is a double standard which seeks to
allow groups on campus the college wants to be heard in the public eye with
those they disagree with isolated. So why do this? What's the
point?
Opinion on why: I believe that all colleges have
some sort of agenda they wish to put forth. They allow only those they
agree with to be heard and sometimes even invite them into the classroom.
On the other hand, groups that the college disagrees with or are not
popular must via for a single spot on campus to speak. Of course, as
stated, this free speech zone is out of the way and rarely seen by the majority
of the student body. So these protests that may for example advocate for
traditional marriage, certain rights and/or privileges get isolated to the back
of a campus. I mean look at the maps of a campus and see for yourself
where they place their free speech zone.
They may possibly do this just to isolate
and change the culture of the campus and thus society itself. Think about
it. The next generation of college students will only think in a certain
way as advocated by the college. It is because of this that a college can
influence the very culture of a country. Multiply this by all the
colleges and across generational lines and views that the colleges want will
eventually overtake the views of every previous generation causing a new
culture in a country. Is it about control? Is it about altering the
countries state of mind? Control is a no, but state of mind is a maybe
because there have been many good and bad things to happen to a country in the
past which many of the intellectuals who run colleges want to fix (even if they
have already been fixed by natural evolution of the culture itself).
Conclusion: Basically, there is no actual free
speech on campus because the colleges want students steered in a specific
direction. Should they do this? No, not at all, for it is
manipulation of individuals. Students go to college to learn about a
career while acquiring the skills and knowledge to achieve that career, not to
be preached to. In order to learn, colleges need to allow for the full
freedom of speech which enables students to question and thus seek truth by
acquiring it themselves. It is no wonder why colleges are fading with the
changes in the job market, they are not focused on giving you your money's
worth anymore, just rhetoric of what they want to pass.
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