The First Amendment was at the forefront of a discussion led by M. David Rudd, president of the University of Memphis, Monday in the Administration Building.
This meeting was held in preparation for upcoming campus events.
With controversial political analyst Dinesh D’Souza scheduled to speak on campus Oct. 10, members of the faculty senate, the Student Government Association (SGA) and other representatives discussed the First Amendment and how the university can approach issues related to free speech.
The importance of free speech, recognizing the boundaries around hate speech and the steps campus can take to prevent potential violence were also discussed.
SGA will host another event related to free speech Oct. 3 at noon.
“I really believe that we have an actively diverse community and that there’s been good dialogue and discussion,” President M. David Rudd said at the meeting. “I would encourage, whether it’s what people describe as left or right, that dialogue and discussion is a good thing for all of us.”
During the discussion Otis Sanford, journalism professor with the Hardin Chair of Excellence, made note of a survey from the Brookings Institute that reviewed a lack of understanding of the First Amendment by college students.
The survey interviewed students from 49 states and found 20 percent of responders said they thought it was acceptable to act - including resorting to violence - to prevent speech they considered offensive.
Jake Kolar, chairman of the Memphis chapter of Young Americans for Freedom (YAF), said at the meeting that no large protests occurred during last semester’s YAF’s events. Still, posters advertising speaker Allen West were torn down about 5 times. Steps were discussed to prevent this from happening again.
Kolar also said during the meeting the U of M is very “politically and civically disengaged.”
“Students here at Memphis usually just come and go from class,” Kolar said. “So they don’t stay around unless they live on campus. College republicans and YAF - we’ve really been trying to amp up our participation and get people civically engaged. And that’s not just dissenting political opinions but that’s through voter registration.”
The upcoming Dinesh D’Souza lecture, “Trigger Warning: America is the Greatest Country on Earth,” is sponsored by YAF and Student Event Allocations. Though D’Souza is a conservative political commentator, author and filmmaker who is often criticized for controversial statements and tweets, Kolar said he does not agree with everything D’Souza says.
“There is not one person that I completely agree with 100 percent,” Kolar said. “I think if you agree with somebody 100 percent that’s not effective. I can’t trust people who agree with me 100 percent … I do not agree with everything Mr.D’Souza says. I didn’t agree with everything Allen West said. I don’t agree with everything that Ronald Reagan said.”
After Dinesh D’souza speaks for 20 to 25 minutes at the event there will be a question and answer portion.
