Campus won't interfere with speech

Police will step in only if dialogue leads to danger, administrator says

By Bradley Hart

The Collegian

With recent confrontations in the campus Free Speech Area between students and preachers, some are questioning the university’s policies relating to the space.

Groups of students have gathered several times in recent weeks questioning and sometimes directly confronting Pastor Anthony Munoz, who uses the Free Speech Area Speaker’s Platform to spread his message at least once a week.

Some have found Munoz’s tactics heavy-handed and a letter to The Collegian late September accused Munoz of engaging in hate speech and argued that he should not be allowed to preach there.

Subsequent letters defended Munoz’s right to use the venue.

The Free Speech Area is available for everyone’s use, regardless of the message, Executive Director for Student Life Carolyn Coon said.

“You can say pretty much anything as long as you’re not inciting a riot,” Coon said.

The Free Speech Area is available at all times to students. Outside visitors, like Munoz, must register to use it, according to university policy.

It is also possible for orators to reserve the Speaker’s Platform on the southeast end of the Peace Garden for their exclusive use. In that case speakers can request that anyone else on the platform be removed by campus police.

There are regulations regarding the use of the area by speakers and Coon said some have been asked to leave or change their tactics in the past.

The use of sound amplification equipment, such as megaphones, is specifically forbidden because it can disrupt other events and classes being held nearby.

The booths and tables that can be seen lining the Free Speech Area are similarly regulated by the University. Groups wishing to establish a presence in the area must register with the Student Activities Office and abide by certain restrictions.

Campus police have on occasion stood by and watched groups of students arguing with Munoz. Coon said the job of the police is to keep an eye on the situation but not to step in unless it poses a public danger.

“The police would only really intervene if someone threw a punch or it got out of hand,” Coon said.

Likewise, it’s often difficult to determine what offensive speech is because each individual has his or her own standards of offense, Coon said. According to section 12 of the University’s Use of Buildings and Grounds Code, the Free Speech Area exists to “allow expressive activity unrelated to its educational mission on University grounds.”

The start of the war in Iraq and last year’s presidential election saw the largest recent political demonstrations on the campus. Campus police were forced to intervene on several occasions when rival groups of demonstrators nearly clashed.

The late 1960s and early 1970s saw huge anti-draft and anti-war protests on the Fresno State campus, some of which developed into riots that destroyed university property.

Then-Governor Ronald Reagan was forced to temporarily shut down CSU campuses during 1970 because of the level of civil disobedience.

Coon said the bottom line is since the Free Speech Area is open to everyone and all points of view, some are bound to be offended by what goes on there.

“You just can’t let it get to you,” she said.

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