2008 Woodie Awards
Where did our first amendment go, and where are the people who care?
Suzy Kenly
Issue date: 11/10/04 Section: Letters to the Editor
- Page 1 of 1
When I was approached by a student asking me to sign a petition, I hesitated. After all, I don't like being harassed to sign things, especially when I am in a hurry. However, once I learned what the petition was about, my blood immediately began to boil, and my hands shook as I signed my name on the line.
Dave Segal, the creator of "The Radical Jasper", a political magazine featuring various students' opinions about numerous issues, was being threatened with expulsion if he continues to publish his journal.
"It's threatening our freedom of speech!" cried the student trying to get people to sign the petition.
Indeed, and this is an absolutely frightening thought. College gives young adults the chance to mature, to learn to think for themselves and to make important decisions.
Thinking for oneself goes hand in hand with standing apart from the crowd and voicing one's opinion, whether it's out loud or in writing. And this is all that David Segal did. He, along with other students, created a political literary magazine that was not funded by the school. To threaten him with expulsion is outrageous.
These are the students who are going to make a difference. Not the mindless ones who don't question authority, the ones who would rather sit in a cube all day than think for themselves, the ones who are happy being a clog in the machine we call "corporate America."
As Thoreau correctly predicted, "The mass of men serve the State thus, not as men mainly, but as machines, with their bodies. . . yet such as these even are commonly esteemed good citizens." What was true in the 1800's holds true today. If you are a "good citizen", you will go to work, do your job, feed your family, and maybe even turn on Fox News to get the "Fair and Balanced" views of current events. However, if you think for yourself, or start up a literary work with your opinions in it, you are threatened by the authoritative figures that have more power.
And this is not just happening in private colleges. We are slowly but surely having our rights taken away. This can be proven by seeing how many protesters were arrested during the Republican Convention, protesters who were merely using their first amendment rights and not doing anything illegal.
Personally, I think the college should be proud of David Segal. He is not going along with the crowd. He is standing apart and bringing forth issues that might not be discussed otherwise.
I'm very glad that the school rebuked their threats of expelling Segal. (The issue was settled, with the school stating that he can continue to publish the magazine so long as he does not use curses and hands out the magazine instead of laying them out on the cafeteria tables.) The fact that the issue even came up is absurd, and I hope that our freedom of speech will not be taken from us, either during college or after. It is in the Constitution; we shouldn't have to ask for it. Unfortunately, sometimes we are forced to do so.
Suzy Kenly
Dave Segal, the creator of "The Radical Jasper", a political magazine featuring various students' opinions about numerous issues, was being threatened with expulsion if he continues to publish his journal.
"It's threatening our freedom of speech!" cried the student trying to get people to sign the petition.
Indeed, and this is an absolutely frightening thought. College gives young adults the chance to mature, to learn to think for themselves and to make important decisions.
Thinking for oneself goes hand in hand with standing apart from the crowd and voicing one's opinion, whether it's out loud or in writing. And this is all that David Segal did. He, along with other students, created a political literary magazine that was not funded by the school. To threaten him with expulsion is outrageous.
These are the students who are going to make a difference. Not the mindless ones who don't question authority, the ones who would rather sit in a cube all day than think for themselves, the ones who are happy being a clog in the machine we call "corporate America."
As Thoreau correctly predicted, "The mass of men serve the State thus, not as men mainly, but as machines, with their bodies. . . yet such as these even are commonly esteemed good citizens." What was true in the 1800's holds true today. If you are a "good citizen", you will go to work, do your job, feed your family, and maybe even turn on Fox News to get the "Fair and Balanced" views of current events. However, if you think for yourself, or start up a literary work with your opinions in it, you are threatened by the authoritative figures that have more power.
And this is not just happening in private colleges. We are slowly but surely having our rights taken away. This can be proven by seeing how many protesters were arrested during the Republican Convention, protesters who were merely using their first amendment rights and not doing anything illegal.
Personally, I think the college should be proud of David Segal. He is not going along with the crowd. He is standing apart and bringing forth issues that might not be discussed otherwise.
I'm very glad that the school rebuked their threats of expelling Segal. (The issue was settled, with the school stating that he can continue to publish the magazine so long as he does not use curses and hands out the magazine instead of laying them out on the cafeteria tables.) The fact that the issue even came up is absurd, and I hope that our freedom of speech will not be taken from us, either during college or after. It is in the Constitution; we shouldn't have to ask for it. Unfortunately, sometimes we are forced to do so.
Suzy Kenly