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At Berkeley: Right wing on freedom of speech

The University of Berkeley is again at stake in the debate on freedom of expression. But this time it is the right wing that is leading.




(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)

About ten people are sitting in a living room in San Francisco. They eat pizza and drink water, some a beer or a glass of wine. If it were not for the conversation centered around theoretically heavy texts, one would think it was the beginning of a party. What is going on, however, is part of the teaching at the University of Berkeley, where I am currently located. And the reason we're staying in a house in San Francisco and not on campus in Berkeley has its origins a few weeks back. The right wing has once again announced its arrival in the city, and not least to the university. This has happened repeatedly in the past year, and often with violent reactions as a result. When right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos was due to visit the campus in February, a steady stream of major counter-demonstrations and property damage of nearly $ XNUMX million followed, after which the visit was canceled at short notice and President Trump threatened to cut Berkeley's public support. This time, the right wing has proclaimed a full four days of speeches in connection with the so-called Free Speech Week, where freedom of speech must not only be celebrated, but its framework tested, according to The Berkeley Patriot, which is behind the announced protests. Many sails are set to avoid unrest this time. The huge police force alone costs around six million kroner. But can an amount limit be set on freedom of expression?

A special place. Why is there so much at stake? Here we go further back in history to find the root causes. In the middle of the 1960, Berkeley became the place where many of the decade's struggles for rights, increased equality and, not least, the right to express themselves were united in the Free Speech Movement movement. In the central square of Sproul Plaza, activist Mario Savio gave a speech in which he emphasized that students should no longer just be pieces of a large machinery, but speak out and be allowed to conduct political activities on campus. After several days of fighting against the police and a myriad of arrests, the activists more or less accomplished what they had set out for. The free word was indeed set free.

If you take a walk around campus on 2017, you quickly notice that this place continues to wrap itself in the freedom of expression. In many places, there are photographs from the Free Speech movement's main battles. Significant quotes abound. The spirit of the place remains rooted in critical thinking and the constant questioning of authorities and the adopted truths.

This is precisely why it is quite special when the right wing arrives to express itself. With Berkeley, the right hand side has chosen an extremely symbolic place to express their opinion, while at the same time questioning whether the place now also offers space for all kinds of votes. They precisely fit into the paradox that has become central to Berkeley University: To maintain the boundless freedom of expression in which all groups are allowed to express themselves, no matter how many millions it costs in security spending and how many students and staff may feel intimidated themselves? Or should one select which groups are allowed to use Berkeley as the platform of speech and thus be accused of promoting only leftist thought?

With Berkeley, the right-hand side has chosen an extremely symbolic place to express its opinion, while at the same time questioning whether the place allows for all types of voices.

Operators and helicopters. The official line from the university is ready. The recently elected Rector Carol Christ recently stated: “Free speech is vital to our democracy. When you first censor others, you are also on the way to being censored yourself. Therefore, the solution is not to ban some speeches, but to give everyone speaking time and then speak out against. " Far from everyone agrees with that statement. And now we are finally back in the living room in San Francisco. For the reason that the teaching takes place here is that my professor has boycotted the campus and moved his lesson into private chambers. It happens both because she disagrees with the official position, but also to protect her students. A host of teachers, students and staff agree and have signed a letter of protest. They want Berkeley to follow other public universities such as Florida, Michigan State, Louisiana and Penn State, which have banned certain parts of the right wing from using campus as a platform for hate speech.

Thus, two factions have emerged on campus: on the one hand, those who want the university to take a clear distance from the radical right wing and ban certain voices from speaking out. This faction does not want to see what they call a «militarization of campus», where combat-clad officers become part of the daily spectacle and where helicopters regularly circulate in the air to keep up. In their eyes, Berkeley has been taken hostage in an artificial struggle for freedom of speech. Artificial because they believe that it is not about freedom of speech at all, but rather about extreme right-wing forces that want violence and demonization of marginalized groups because of race, ethnicity and sexuality. orientering.

Many believe it is not at all about freedom of speech, but about an extreme right that wants violence and demonization of marginalized groups.

The other faction on campus is problematic to this view. As one professor puts it, "I can see that the students who are leaning to the right do not feel welcome here at Berkeley, and so they resort to extremes and invite speakers who are far more rabid than they themselves are."

Split society. The gap between the two seems to be gradually widening, and Berkeley is thus also a significant example of the divide that American society is in. The Right wing's announced Free Speech Week was also canceled. Only a few speakers showed up, and just a few handfuls of listeners here and there. Thus, the mention of the event more than the event itself became central, but speculation and guesswork were enough to put the minds to the boil – and enough to send hundreds of police officers on the streets and helicopters into the air. In those days, the all-encompassing sound of Berkeley was the rotating blade of a surveillance helicopter.

Steffen Moestrup
Steffen Moestrup
Regular contributor to MODERN TIMES, and docent at Denmark's Medie- og Journalisthøjskole.

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