Sunday, April 5, 2015

UC Berkeley Free Speech Movement: Addressing Fundamental Rights

Alef Esteban
Section 2
Week 2
UC Berkeley Free Speech

            Regardless if I were attending a UC or not, this reading was interesting to me because of the impact the movement made. In this reading, students were protesting against the university's restriction against free speech and at first glance, it is obvious that this is restricting a fundamental right. What surprised me was that this occurred at the university level. I would expect those at a college to be logical and settle conflicts in an intelligent and nonviolent way. I am glad to observe the protestors not using force against the police, and representatives from both sides discussed the issue. Aside from nonviolent protesting, going to college allows us to educate and advance ourselves individually and collectively. When I say collectively, this means that the education we receive allows us to rationally contemplate about issues and formulate a response, but at the same time respect and accommodate to other people's inputs. The result of this would signify that we can collaborate together and reach a verdict that will satisfy all, regardless if this concerns a simple or complex situation.

Question: Concerning protesting, are the protesters well-informed about the movement and are making conscious decisions, or are they simply following the "leader" (if they even know who they are)?

Source: https://scottlong1980.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/freedom-of-speech-megaphone2.jpg

Though the bottom right man is smaller, he still has his own megaphone and can use it in conjunction with other people to make a voice bigger than the right side man.

No comments:

Post a Comment