[Opinion] The University's restrictions on Lawn room displays undermine freedom of expression

[Yonnie3]

Last edited Tue Apr 13, 2021, 01:53 PM - Edit history (2)

From the Cavalier Daily 4/13/21 by Max Bresticker

Edit to add link and photo credit I forgot: https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2021/04/bresticker-the-universitys-restrictions-on-lawn-room-displays-undermine-freedom-of-expression

The prospect that a subset of the population may be offended by the self-expression of others does not provide proper justification for the administration to stifle one’s speech Photo by Sophie Roehse | The Cavalier Daily

Last semester, a sign saying “F—k UVA”, among other things, appeared on the door of a Lawn room, igniting a wave of controversy. Now, the same Lawn resident has once again spurred debate on Grounds following her display of another sign which notably featured the Rotunda engulfed in flames and draped in a Klansmen’s hood followed by a Kwame Ture quote. While the University administration defended the student’s right to post such material in the fall, the spring semester has witnessed a disappointing departure from this earlier stance. Even before the student posted her most recent sign March 12, Housing and Residence Life unveiled a new set of regulations on Lawn room postings that will take effect the next academic year. This was followed by the University physically removing the questionable sign the same day it was posted under the pretense that it “directly promot[ed] physical violence.” Both these actions are insulting to the University community and reveal that the administration has all but a shallow commitment to upholding the First Amendment rights of students.

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For the majority of my time at the University, I have taken pride in the resolve the administration has shown for defending the rights of students. When I was a first year at orientation, I was encouraged by Dean Groves’ presentation on the First Amendment. Furthermore, I am proud to go to one of the few universities with a green light rating from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, and I am grateful that the University allows discontented student staffers in HRL to speak openly to the media. However, the fact that we have previously enjoyed such expansive freedoms requires us to be hyper-vigilant to ensure that the administration does not take actions — as they have done recently — that threaten to erode the rights of students.

It will be interesting to see what, if anything, changes in UVa policy regarding this in the future.