Making space for speech: Georgia house bill seeks to expand free speech zones on college campuses – Red and Black

For Keaton Law, a freshman political science and history major from Lilburn, free speech is more than a political theory. Its personal.

Last October, Law made it his personal mission to have a sidewalk preacher removed from the Tate Student Center Plaza, after the priest reportedly told passing students they were sinners and whores.

I dont think thats acceptable, said Law in a 2016 interview with The Red & Black. We shouldnt be subjected to that kind of verbal abuse all day.

Today, Law still stands by his position that speech zones on campus should be restricted. However, a new bill introduced to the Georgia House aims to do just the opposite.

On Feb. 24, Rep. Buzz Brockway (R-Lawrenceville) introduced House Bill 471 as a proposition to expand free speech zones to encompass any generally accessible outdoor areas of university campuses.

The only areas on campus where students may engage in protests, speeches or peaceful assemblies are the Memorial Hall Plaza and Tate Student Center Plaza.

These areas, often referred to as free speech zones, encourage a reservation at least 48 hours in advance through Associate Dean of Students. They are available for the purpose of expression between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. University faculty members also have the responsibility to regulate the time, place and manner of expression, according to the University of Georgia Policy of Freedom of Expression.

The zones and regulations, however, may soon see a drastic change in the public university system of all Georgia schools, should this bill pass.

For some students, such as MaKayla King, a freshman dietetics major from Oneida, Tennessee, and president of the Turning Point chapter at UGA, this bill will bring positive revisions to UGAs current policy.

Thats the kind of thing were working for, King said.

Im hoping we can eventually do away with these free speech zones all together, King said.

Turning Point is a new student-activist organization on campus which advocates the importance of fiscal responsibility, free markets and limited government.

King said her organization has played a role in this potential expansion of speech zones through awareness campaigns and educating students on their current speech rights at UGA.

Josh Horne, vice president of Turning Point and freshman biochemistry major from Marietta, said the organization believes the purpose of the university is not to limit free speech but to encourage discussion and promote growth of ideas.

Since taxpayer dollars are funding this university in a large part, anyone should be able to say what they think, Horne said. If our money is going towards the university, then were supporting the university and they should support our right to be able to express what we think.

A public safety policy

Though the bill may seem like a crucial step for organizations such as Turning Point, students such as Law believe expanding free speech zones is a step in the wrong direction.

Law said he believes larger free speech areas on campus would encourage more hate speech.

Law said rather than expanding the free speech zones like the bill suggests, a more concrete, modernized version of the rules and regulations [of free speech] would be better.

We need to outline what hate speech is and be aware that people are allowed to come on campus and say whatever they want and that has the potential of being hateful, he said. Thats what causes a major distraction to what this university is all about.

Journalism professor John Soloski, on the other hand, supports the potential revisions to the Policy of Freedom of Expression because he believes students should be able to practice free speech anywhere.

Anything protecting students First Amendment rights is positive and adds to the marketplace of ideas, Soloski said. I dont believe in free speech zones and see them as counter to what a university is about.

Soloski said it is important to remember the role the university plays in students permitted execution of free speech.

We ought to be encouraging speech and not restricting it. Soloski said.

Other faculty members said though the bill is relevant, they didnt think there would be a notable change on campus right away, should the bill pass.

My guess is that most people dont know that they arent able to have free speech except on certain areas, said political science professor Michael Lynch. The university telling people they are not allowed to have free speech should be a concern to most students, yet theres not many students talking about it.

Lynch also said hes unsure what the bill will actually do in practice, considering the provisions present in the original policy will still be included.

Some of these provisions include students protection against harassment and bullying as well as restrictions against hateful organizations forming on campus.

Other restrictions will still include the universitys responsibility of providing their discretion to appropriate time, place and manner of expression.

Understandably, the university wants to balance public safety with students ability to publicize their political views, Lynch said.

Room for improvement

Political science professor Teena Wilhelm said its important to independently evaluate the current conduct of UGAs speech policies through organizations such as the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. FIRE has given UGA a green freedom of expression rating.

A green rating, as defined by FIRE, is given when a college or universitys policies do not seriously imperil speech.

This rating suggests in comparison with colleges across the nation, UGA is not lacking free speech protection on campus. However, Wilhelm said she believed there is still room for improvement.

The issue that I could see is that the regulation of speech on other areas of campus is still somewhat subjective with the time, place and manner restrictions, Wilhelm said. Since the bill opens up other places on campus for speech to happen, I suppose it opens to the door for more regulation or more challenge to regulation.

Soloski also voiced his concerns for the bill if it were to pass in its current form.

The bill states alongside the free speech zone expansion, there will also be a repeal of the requirement for students to pay activity fees.

No public institution of higher education in this state shall require any student to pay any student activity fee as a condition of matriculation, the bill states.

The issue with the bill Soloski is most concerned with is the potential repercussions which could surface from the limitation of student fees.

I am uncertain the bill [will do] this, Soloski said. But if the bill limits fees being used to support student organizations, this could indirectly limit speech.

Soloski said the elimination of students requirement to pay student fees for organizations on campus could do more than just limit free speech.

My concern is that this could be used to, in effect, defund and possibly help to stifle or eliminate student groups that do not have funds themselves to maintain their organization, Soloski said. Indirectly, this could put out of business worthy student organizations that rely largely on mandatory student fees to support themselves.

Without student organizations having the means to support themselves, the occurrence of free speech by students on campus could be significantly affected.

However, Soloski said the current UGA Policy of Freedom of Expression is already limiting to students free speech possibilities and First Amendment rights with its inclusion of free speech zones.

I do believe that restrictions on student speech, such as free speech zones, are contrary to what a university stands for, he said.

The regulations set in place by the policy, outlining the time, manner and place restrictions set by the university, are also seen as problematic to many for the limitations they set in place as well.

Details of these regulations may be subject to change, provided the bill passes and results in lasting revisions to UGAs Policy of Freedom of Expression.

If passed, this bill will be the second revision in less than three years to the policy, the first taking place in 2015 following a lawsuit against the university.

This lawsuit, gaining the most traction in 2015, resulted from the Young Americans for Liberty suing UGA for restricting free speech and demonstrations to just two areas which comprise less than one percent of campus.

The revision eliminated the requirement for a permit from the Dean of Students prior to a demonstration and enacted the 48-hour reservation policy in its place.

The revised policy also states spontaneous activities with less than ten people participating are allowed anywhere on campus.

If the crowd grows to be larger than ten, campus police must be notified.

Though revisions to the Policy of Freedom of Expression are still only a possibility at the time, students and faculty remain split in their support and predictions of what the bill could do for students if passed.

The campus and its protections really exist for the student body, Wilhelm said. So given the recent events concerning speech on college campuses, I suppose [this bills propositions] are not too surprising.

Currently, HB 471 is in the Georgia House. The bill will need to be voted out of the House by crossover day, Friday, March 2, in order to be considered by Gov. Nathan Deal.

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Making space for speech: Georgia house bill seeks to expand free speech zones on college campuses - Red and Black