Speech Codes In Schools Essay

The “Foundation for Individual Rights in Education” is the primary advocate group for the removal of speech codes on college campuses, working to draw attention to the growing censorship problems and striving to repeal unconstitutional restrictions. FIRE was formed in order to “empower campus activists, reform restrictive policies, and inform the public about the state of rights on our campuses” (FIRE. N.p., n.d. Web). The organization rates colleges yearly on their policies regarding free speech and assigns either a green, yellow, or red light correlating to the degree that the institution restricts speech. A green light is very rare in 2016. One college that has disavowed speech codes is the University of Chicago, which reaffirmed its policy
By imposing speech codes, colleges silence debate and present students with a one sided education, where they are only exposed to opinions that support their own ideas, and is not representative of life after college. These codes stifle important discssions and feed into a culture of sensitivity that cannot be maintained in the working world. Based on the legal violations made by speech codes, with respect to the first amendment, as well as their largely ambiguous wording and frequently inefficient application, speech codes should be repealed or at least seriously modified on college
By restricting allowable speech to only what is commonly accepted, colleges have presented students with an unrealistic one sided view of their world, and should actively seek to incorporate diversity of opinion into their settings. Instead of policing expression, colleges should punish hate speech and harassment, while working to embody the values of learning, which include challenging traditional views, and discussing what others consider to be