Free Speech vs. Campus Security :: essays research papers

Free Speech vs. Campus Security As everyone in the world should know, the world isn’t clear-cut and simple to read. The world is not just black and white. There is no real absolute truth in anything because the issue of what is right and wrong can vary widely between one person and the next. This fact is what makes our world so dynamic; it is what enables us to grow and learn and change. However, because of this blur in what people perceive is right or wrong, or in what someone thinks is one thing and another person thinks is another, there comes conflict. This idea is poignantly illustrated with issues of free speech. Can one really define where one person’s right of free speech begins and ends? If one can, where is that point? And is that point the same for everyone, or does it change? Questions like there are being raised more and more since September eleventh, as can be seen by the case of â€Å"Free Speech vs. Campus Security† that is currently going on at the University of South Florida. In my opinion, Professor Al-Arian’s rights to free speech, as afforded to him by the first amendment to the constitution, would be infringed upon if the University would vote to let him go because of what he said.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nothing has been decided as of yet, however, should the university decide to let Professor Al-Arian go, they would be violating his first amendment rights of free speech. The case goes something like this: Sami Al-Arian is a tenured associate professor of computer science at the University of South Florida (USF). On September 26, Al-Arian went on the Fox Network’s O’Reilly Factor where is it said that he appeared to be â€Å"sympathetic to the terrorist activity such as that which had devastated the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.† Following his appearance on the show, Al-Arian he received numerous threats on his life and of violence. In response to this, USF placed him on paid leave of absence sighting they could not guarantee his safety. Later on, the USF had a meeting called with the Board of Trustees. This is where the intention to fire Al-Arian was made by USF President Judy Genshaft. This action was made under the premise that Al-Ar ian’s continued presence â€Å"would lead to ‘disruption’ on campus that the university could not tolerate.† It seems to me that the university on not so much worried about his safety than they are worried about having a man with unpopular/un-American views on their campus.