Speech First, a new membership association dedicated to protecting college students’ right to free speech, officially launched on Wednesday. The organization’s mission is to support students who seek to protect their rights to free speech, expression, or association by aiding them on campus, in the courts, and in the media.
To this end, Speech First is creating a network of individuals – “students, parents, faculty, alumni, and concerned citizens from across the country” – who are “dedicated to protecting the free-speech rights of students on campus,” according to a press release.
By creating a membership organization, Speech First will represent a collective body of free speech enthusiasts who can support students fighting a massive campus bureaucracy.
“When students’ speech rights on campus are violated, it’s tough to fight back. A lone student doesn’t stand a chance against a school with a huge endowment and an army of lawyers. It’s a real David versus Goliath situation. That’s why Speech First was created,” Nicole Neily, president of Speech First, told Red Alert Politics.
Their website explains further: “The prospect of standing up to a school can be overwhelming – it can be expensive and time-consuming (not to mention awkward, since the student probably still wants a diploma at the end of the day). That’s why most students don’t take action. But what if students who wanted to stand up for free speech on campus were supported by likeminded students from all over the country? And what if those students were part of an organization that had the resources to fight back? Suddenly, it’s not so daunting after all.”
Joining the organization is simple. Those interested in backing student speech rights can pay a one-time $5 membership fee, which gives members access to unique resources and allows for the membership association to grow its ranks.
The need for such an organization is high. A study by the Knight Foundation found that 54 percent of college students agree that the climate on campus prevents people from saying what they believe because others might be offended. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education reports that “at least half of students agree that they have stopped themselves from sharing an idea or opinion in class at some point since beginning college.”
Speech First will challenge various speech restriction tactics including speech codes, safe spaces, and free speech zones.
“The message is clear. Students with unconventional ideas should shut up and keep their opinions to themselves. This is wrong … Censoring speech infringes the rights of students to express their opinions on campus. Just as important, it harms the rights of other students to listen to the speech – to challenge, debate, and learn from the views of their fellow students,” says Neily.
