Editor,
It has been quite a week already for those who hate the First Amendment and free speech on college campuses around the country - from stopping the displaying of a flag raised in front of Scholes Hall to silencing too many questions concerning government leaders at a public forum at the University of Florida.
On our campus, an individual took it upon himself to remove a symbol of Mexican independence and obstructed the expression of pride by those who raised the flag. At the University of Florida, the campus police took it upon themselves to silence a student with Tasers and obstructed the speech of those who wished to question the motives of our country's leaders.
These agents of injustice who desire to control our First Amendment right to free speech hide behind patriotism or the necessity to keep order because we are at war. Or probably, the tragedy at Virginia Tech galvanized the need to control every aspect of a campus.
The rights enumerated in our Constitution, including free speech, are not conditional. They are not fleeting. They are inalienable and people need to start getting ticked off by the fact that we are being made strangers to the law that is supposed to secure these rights. You may not agree with what the Mexican flag expresses or what University of Florida student Andrew Meyer said, but you should be willing to fight for his right to say what he did.
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Carsen Bentley
President
College Libertarians
