Michael DeSantis

Ms. Agosta

UWRT 1101

February 22 2017

http://acculturated.com/historical-correctness/

Analysis of article

In this article, Historical correctness in the acculturated, the writer, Kyle Smith

talks about the history of free speech. He lays the groundwork of the article by talking

about how political correctness can erase history. This is an interesting topic because it

goes against what we have been taught about history. How if we dont learn from our

past we are destine to repeat.

I found that the audience in this article was geared towards politically minded

college students. This audience has seen the effects of political correctness and would

like to know the history behind it. The author also uses writing at a college level to

convey his opinion.

The constraints of the article may be the audience. The writer doesnt have as

big as an audience as others so his analysis will go unnoticed by the masses.

Some of the strategies the writer uses may be the vocabulary and historical context. He

tells a story about a time in history and uses contemporary political theory to dissect it.

I believe it was very convincing to me because I felt it was preaching to the choir but

some of the language he used in the article was divisive. By having this language the
overall theme of the article and its examples will go unnoticed and be characterized as

partisan.

Free Speech

Growing up in the counterculture of conservatism I have noticed an effort by

certain groups to silence dissenting opinions. Each week one can see another protest

on a college campus. We have come to the point where a student cant speak freely

everywhere at their public school.

To me Free speech is the foundation of any great democracy. I believe that is

why the founding fathers placed it first in the bill of rights. Without it propaganda by the

majority would dominate. Without the first amendment movements like civil rights,

vietnam protests, and more important elections would never be able to thrive.

Being a college student I see first hand the attacks on free speech. Not until I got

to campus did I realize how bad the problem was. People are protesting certain words,

phrases and people just for their speech, not their actions.

My first experience was in my comparative politics class, A class one would think

would be a beacon for free speech. Early in the class our professor gave a simple in

class poll. Some of the questions that were asked were Do you want to be free? nearly

everyone raised their hand, Should the government tell you how to think? nearly
everyone raised their hand for No. Now here comes the scary part, when asked Should

every american have free speech? only five people raised their hand. This could be

part laziness but only having 5 out of nearly 100 students raise their hand in support for

free speech is scary.

Now one may think this in class poll is unreliable but Yale has done a study that

shows the following.

Exactly half (50%) said they have often felt intimidated to share beliefs

that differ from their classmates, including 16% who said frequently and 34%

who said sometimes

Fifty-five percent (55%) of students say they are aware of trigger

warnings and 63% would favor their professors using them, while 23% would

oppose
By a 52-42% margin, students say their college or university should forbid

people from speaking on campus who have a history of engaging in hate speech
Seventy-two percent (72%) of students surveyed said they support

disciplinary action for any student or faculty member on campus who uses

language that is considered racist, sexist, homophobic or otherwise offensive

One in three (35%) say that hate speech is not protected under the First

Amendment
Liberal students are more likely than conservative students to say the First

Amendment is outdated, 30% to 10%, respectively

By a 51% to 36% margin, students favor their school having speech codes

to regulate speech for students and faculty

If youre like me you find these stats frightening.

 Another thing I think people should understand is that this new environment is

not the students fault. When you go to a school that only teaches you one side instead

of giving students facts and letting them think freely we start to see this divide. That is

why when someone with a different opinion they have never heard before they get

frighten and retreat.

According to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, eight colleges in

North Carolina have been given the speech code rating red, which means the institution

has at least one policy that both clearly and substantially restricts freedom of speech.

Only two colleges in the state have been given the rating of green which means the

institution at least nominally supports free speech.

In NC, it isnt all bad. We are lucky enough to have a Lt. Governor that believes

the first amendment is important to our country.

He made the following statement on the matter.

Lt. Governor Dan Forest to Push for Campus Free Speech

Raleigh, NC Lt. Governor Dan Forest today announced his intention to work with

members of the General Assembly to pass the Restore Campus Free Speech Act.

Recently, in spectacles that have been broadcast around the nation, speakers at

college campuses are being denied their first amendment rights to freedom of speech.
This proposed legislation would ensure the First Amendment right of freedom of speech

is upheld on North Carolina public university campuses.

There are four main points to this legislation that will protect students,

professors and invited speakers across the entire UNC System of schools:

1) A new policy on free expression that would nullify any restrictive speech codes.

2) A discipline policy that would punish students who shout down visiting speakers or

deprive others of their right to free expression, a tactic commonly known as the

hecklers veto".

3) A provision that allows anyone that has had their free speech rights infringed to sue

the university and recover court costs and attorney fees.

4) A requirement that freshman orientation include a session on the promotion of free

expression on campus.

The bill would not:

Restrict academic freedom of the professor to teach or express his own views in

class or in writings.

Stop the protesting of speakers, only allow for reasonable time, place and

manner restrictions.

Limit in any way the ability of professors to maintain order or direct discussion in

the classroom.
The ideas used to formulate the Restore Campus Free Speech Act are taken from the

best parts of reports and policies from schools such as Yale University and the

University of Chicago, which have long standing institutionally backed policies to

guarantee freedom of speech in the classroom and on campus.

No student or guest of a university should ever feel threatened to exercise their First

Amendment right of free speech, nor should they be prohibited from doing so. I look

forward to working with the Legislature and Board of Governors to ensure one of our

most basic American freedoms is afforded to every person on our public university

campuses. - Lt. Governor Dan Forest.

If NC and other schools take these efforts I believe we will be better off. Not just

from a constitutional standpoint but a cultural standpoint. We were are all able to speak

freely without reservation then well start to see this country come together.