Union preachers violate students’ free speech rights
Last Friday, I went to the Union to eat and enjoy a 30-minute lunchtime performance of “Making it up … As we go along,” which was being held on the steps near Free Speech Alley.
Unfortunately, one of the religious groups that often visits our campus was making so much noise that I couldn’t enjoy the show. They couldn’t keep their sermon contained to the area in front of the Union; they had to make sure people 100 feet away received the message too.
Unlike other groups who use Free Speech Alley, each time these zealots are here they feel the need to blast their message as loud as they can to every person walking by them. Trying to reason with them is not good because they just get louder.
I should make one thing clear before I go any further; my problem is not with the message these people preach, it is the way they preach it to others. Despite the verbal bashings of religions such as Mormonism and Catholicism (according to one of the preachers, I’m going to hell for worshipping idols), I still think these people have as much right as anyone else to use Free Speech Alley.
My problem is how these groups deliver their message to students on campus, usually with yelling and screaming so loud that students have no choice but to listen to their rants. Free speech doesn’t exist if it violates other individuals’ rights and in this case, the loud noise from these groups is a clear violation of all Union-goers’ rights.
Students have a legitimate argument against these groups and should do something to stop these loud demonstration methods. If anything, we need to take a stand to make sure Free Speech Alley does not become a stomping ground for groups to violate students’ rights.
Where does the Union fit into all of this? If these groups are violating the rights of LSU students, why does the Union allow such behavior to occur? Shouldn’t there be rules in place to prevent infringement of rights in Free Speech Alley?
According to Ralph Gossard, associate vice chancellor of Finance and Administrative Services, LSU has no set conduct rules that groups must follow when using Free Speech Alley.
When dealing with issues of the First Amendment, there’s no clear answer to the problem, Gossard said. The rules of free speech are the same for LSU as they are anywhere else, he said. In other words, it’s difficult to define exactly whose free speech rights are being violated.
Whether the U.S. Constitution is on the students’ side here or not, I’m going to avoid the Union altogether when these groups come back. I’m still all for free speech and Free Speech Alley, but I’d like the opportunity to visit the Union without being told my morals are lacking and that I should repent when all I want is something to eat.
Going to the Union should be a pleasant experience, not an excruciating adventure in dodging people whose only reason for being on campus is to condemn you to the fiery pits of hell for fornicating (whether you have or not).
If all else fails and I encounter the preachers again, I’ll take comfort in the words of Hubert H. Humphrey when he said, “The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.”
Jason Martin