Viking Fusion Videographer Aaron Johnson discusses the opinions of Berry students regarding freedom of speech.

Aaron Johnson, Videographer

Since the formation of the First Amendment, freedom of expression has been one of the many things that has set the United States of America apart from other countries in the world.  Citizens have the right to express thoughts, opinions, and actions freely, as long as they do not cause physical harm towards others.  Our founding fathers considered freedom of expression fundamental to the success of American democracy.  However, as time goes on, change occurs. Many people see the need to either revise the First Amendment or enforce speech codes to preserve a peaceful society and nation.  Others see quite the opposite, arguing that implementing speech codes infringe on our rights as Americans. 

Looking at past incidents involving hate speech at Berry, I was inclined to see what students thought about freedom of speech in America and, specifically, here on campus.  I created an online survey asking two questions: “Do you think Americans have too much or too little freedom of speech?” and “Do you think Berry students have too much or too little freedom of expression?”  I was pleased to find one hundred responses to my questions.  Moreover, I was surprised to see that on question one, 45% of students agreed there is too little freedom of speech in America, while only 17.35% said too much.  However, 40.82% responded “Other,” and two skipped the question.  For question two, out of eighty-one answers, the majority of students (60.49%) agreed that they do not have too much freedom of speech, while 41.98% said we do. 

In my opinion, I think freedom of speech is essential to a healthy society, and I do not think a speech code should be implemented at Berry, because those who commit hate speech crimes are doing so anonymously.  Therefore, the enforcement of a speech code would not change their actions towards minorities.  Furthermore, I believe that true hate speech does not occur very often here on campus or at least enough to be a serious issue.