Student SPJ chapter takes away free speech at Nerf-gun point

A member of the goon squad orders Bryan Kellert, 19, second from left, out of Tidelberg for assembling during the Society of Professional Journalists First Amendment Free Food Festival at the University of Alabama Wednesday.

In an invasion unanticipated by most at the University of Alabama, insurgents from the small nation of Roll Tidelberg established borders on the southwest corner of the campus Quad Wednesday afternoon.

With no opposition, the camp's numbers began to swell as Roll Tidelberg officials enticed passersby into citizenship with a free barbecue sandwich.

But with citizenship and a delicious lunch came a heavy burden: Those who signed up to become citizens of the little-known country signed away the First Amendment rights they enjoy on American soil.

Within the crudely roped-off borders of the young nation, masked goons patrolled the grounds with rifles that shot foam-like, but seemingly lethal projectiles. They paced silently before objecting to any instance of talking or assembly, and deported any members of the press who made their way in to record the somber events inside.

After several students had been sent to a makeshift jail or deported for their crimes, a group of Jewish students donning houndstooth yarmulkes rushed into the country shouting for their right to religion and free speech. At gunpoint they were forced back onto American soil but not before one accused the goon forcing them out of being Jewish himself.

Of course, there was no real invasion Wednesday. But the First Amendment Free Food Festival, hosted by UA's student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, did help many students understand what it feels like to lose these very basic freedoms.

Kristen Mather, president of the SPJ chapter, said the group got the idea for the event from similar events that SPJ student chapters have held on other campuses.

We want students to not only be aware of their First Amendment rights but to exercise them in an ethical way while realizing that not everyone has the freedom of speech that we do here, Mather said.

Although visitors were aware that the event was a playful illustration, those who entered the borders of Roll Tidelberg were made immediately aware of the fact that their every action was being scrutinized by rulers making judgments based on a whim.

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Student SPJ chapter takes away free speech at Nerf-gun point