Saving Free Speech -- Harassment Freedom Rights Essays

Saving Free Speech It's difficult to imagine America as a country that tolerates open discrimination and harassment of people of different race or ethnicity. Yet, somehow it is also difficult to imagine America without considering its history scarred by racial intolerance and subjugation. It's strange how a country that was supposedly founded on the fundamental assertion that all people are created equal and have the basic right to freedom from oppression continues to deal with these problems. Racial and ethnic harassment has even spread to this country's institutions of higher learning. Iowa State University is not immune to this epidemic. Consider the following incident, which occurred as recently as fall of 2003, as described in the Iowa State Daily on November 5 by columnist Amy Peet. A certain individual of the ethnic minority found her room ransacked and vandalized. Hateful notes and phone calls were left in her dorm room, and there were "phantom knocks" on her door. This person and her close friends genuinely felt disturbed, angered, and threatened. This incident is only one example; several such cases have occurred at Iowa State and other institutions across the country. The argument concerning such cases focuses on the right to free speech guaranteed to every American citizen by the First Amendment. Our Bill of Rights guarantees each person the opportunity to voice his or her own opinions without repression from the executive powers. But is it still considered `free speech' if the things that are said are meant to cause harm, discomfort, or to threaten? Does the First Amendment still protect those who would use words to such a malicious end? In an effort to deal with the rising number of claims of verbal... ...done when words are spoken. The policy on harassment becomes effective only when those mere words become actual, physical actions that place the victim in danger or institute genuine fear and discomfort. The regulation of hate speech, therefore, does not represent an infringement on the First Amendment guarantee to freedom of speech. Rather, it ensures that open, intellectual dialogue can take place in universities where hate speech has continued to become a stronger and more malignant force. Incidents of harassment and abuse are capable of being dealt with in a manner that is fair and consistent with the doctrines enshrined in the First Amendment. The enforcement of Iowa State's policy on racial and ethnic harassment is a set of principles that need to be followed in order to maintain the atmosphere of education and equal opportunity this institution represents.