UM may alter free speech policy

JULIE FINLEY
DM News Editor

Ole Miss's free speech area may not be restricted to the area in front of Fulton Chapel for long.

Associate Dean of Students Sparky Reardon said the free speech area has been a topic of discussion among university administration for almost eight months.

"My hope is that soon we will be able to announce changes in the policy," Reardon said.

Reardon said there has been discussion of plans to establish one or more speakers' corners that will consist of an area larger than the current free speech area. Anyone would be able to speak in this area without notifying the dean of students office, which is currently a requirement for the free speech area. The area would be open to students and others at all times unless another event was planned.

The state has the right to determine the time, location and manner of any speaker or protest on a public campus under several Supreme Court interpretations of the first amendment.

Reardon said the area would still be somewhat limited in order to allow the university to function on a daily basis.

"We are an educational institution. We have to preserve order," Reardon said.

He said the new policy would likely place restrictions on the manner and place of public speeches. In order to prevent disturbances, amplification devices would be prohibited, and the place would be regulated so as not to interrupt traffic but still provide exposure.

Reardon said they have learned from the first time they designated a free speech area three years ago. Students have shown that they have an interest in the area and realize the value of it, Reardon said.

Ashley Williams, a sophomore from Atlanta, said she does not understand the current policy.

"It's ridiculous. I don't understand how they can rationalize having a free speech area at a public, state-funded university," Williams said. "It blows my mind. It is so backward. It goes against anything Ole Miss is trying to prove."

On Monday, Ole Miss student Arthur Baker was arrested during a protest against The DM outside the free speech area. Six days earlier a about 40 choral students marched to the chancellor's office. No action was taken against the choral students.

Reardon said that if the dean of students office is not aware of free speech violations when they occur no legal action can be taken.