Posted on 10/19/2017 9:43:01 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Last week at Columbia University, conservative pundit Tommy Robinson attempted to give a speech on mass immigration in Europe. Instead, the event devolved into chaos. Students consistently shouted down Robinson, effectively preventing him from speaking as he Skyped into the campus auditorium from the United Kingdom. He gave up on trying to speak and instead fielded questions from protesters.
“This is our free speech, this is our First Amendment right,” repeated some of the protesters as they shouted over Robinson.
It was clear that many students had a warped understanding of the First Amendment.
To be fair, an argument could be made that, because Robinson spoke before students at a private university, First Amendment protections might not apply. But student protesters didn’t raise the specter of that concern. Indeed, their only way of justifying their actions was to claim that they were expressing their “free speech” rights in shouting down Robinson.
That is not free speech, but in fact an abridgment of someone else’s rights.
This anti-free speech behavior is increasingly common at private and public schools alike, as documented by websites like The College Fix and Campus Reform. In an essay for National Review, public policy researcher Stanley Kurtz dubbed this the “Year of the Shout-Down.” He likewise noted that protesters tend to justify their actions with chants about the First Amendment.
Do protesters, and students at large, really understand the First Amendment?
No, they don’t. In a newly published study, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) found that only 46% of college students understand that "hate speech" is indeed protected by the First Amendment. Of the 54% of students who did not know, 29% falsely believe the First Amendment doesn’t cover hate speech, and 25% just did not know.
Further, when asked if the First Amendment should cover hate speech, nearly half (48%) said “no.”
Perhaps this isn’t a surprise, since nearly 13% of survey respondents actively associated hate speech with violence, according to FIRE.
Most of these students write that hate speech "encourages" violence against a group or individual, but some write that this speech may "incite [or] glorify violence against a group" ... a few students suggest that hate speech itself is actually a form of violence.
...
One student wrote that hate speech "constitutes violence. It goes beyond voicing an opinion about an issue and instead threatens the existence of others."
The majority of students (56%) also agree that colleges should be able to disinvite speakers after they’ve already been invited if other students object to the potential speakers' views. Not surprisingly, liberal students are significantly more likely to support a disinvitation than conservative and Republican students:
There is a 40 percentage point ideological divide in attitudes toward disinvitations: 78% of very liberal students and 38% of very conservative students support the withdrawal of a guest speaker’s invitation in some instances.
They’ve never been taught any of the stuff like civics that traditionally was required in public schools.
A great many contemporary college students would not be considered capable of completing a degree in any reputable 1940s era college.
Most College Students don’t understand why they are in college they are still young and dumb and fail to use much logic they are stuck on group thinking it’s trendy.
Some punctuation might help that sentence, my FRiend.
I fixed the headline:
MOST COLLEGE STUDENTS CLUELESS.
That is all .....
A great many contemporary college students would not be considered capable of completing a degree in any reputable 1940s era college high school.
College,I would say high school.
It seems that the more educated you are the stupider you are.
Or even a 1960s era HS. Let’s see, when did teacher unions really take hold, and when did this anti-American nonsense really take off in schools?
In eight grade I was required to pass a US citizenship test, in order to pass the government class. Times have changed!
This should not be too much of a problem because most people don’t go to college.
. They are smarter than that
The sad/scary this is they say and believe this all while calling Trump a fascist who want's to take away people rights.
Truly the most dense, obtuse generation this country has ever produced. Fat, lazy and stupid. That's the future of America.
By design. Intentionally dumbed-down populations don’t worry about things like liberty and inalienable rights.
The 1st Amendment prohibits gov. interference in public discourse. No more, no less.
I’m betting that these ignorant snowlflakes wouldn’t be able to recite the first 5 words of the 1st Amendment, nor would they understand why those words are important.
“Congress shall make no law. . .”
Heck, most college students are clueless about the Constitution, history, math, civics, the classics etc etc etc. But, they feel good about themselves. Guess the old saying “ignorance is bliss” must be true.
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