Summary of Derek Bok's "Protecting Freedom of Expression on the Campus.
Derek Bok, writing in the Boston Globe in 1991, offered an argument against the First Amendment protecting free speech. Bok's view briefly is that although the First Amendment protects speech, it does not necessarily mean that it is right, proper or civil His essay was prompted by the display of Confederate flags hung from a window of a Harvard dormitory.
Universities are having a hard time trying to define freedom of speech without it causing controversy. Lately racism problems have occurred including one at Harvard University where confederate flags were hung and this offended students who believe the flag represents slavery. There are split sides as to if this freedom of speech or not. Every University is different when it comes to this issue and some have laws that protect people from being offended while others don't. Speech is protected under the First Amendment but when it comes to situations like these it's important to not automatically assume it's right. While the majority Harvard students would not be offended by the flags, if there is a small percentage that is we must take that into account.
In order to build a strong community and set a good example, Bok thinks that it is mandatory that everyone take into account the feelings of others and for what ever reason the Harvard students hung the flags, it is their responsibility to know what is acceptable and what is not. Society has tried for many years to draw a line between what can be acceptable without offending people but the Supreme Court has backed freedom of speech no matter what the case.
There are rules that protect certain types of messages from being displayed but are not consistent. Bok read from the Supreme Court rulings that displaying confederate flags and swastikas is protected by the First Amendment and cannot be changed due to a few being offended and these rules apply to all agencies of government including public universities.
