To many people, “Berkeley” is synonymous with “protest.” Mentioning the University of California, Berkeley often conjures up images of bearded bohemians and flower children peacefully rallying for a “hippie” cause of the past, such as the famous Free Speech Movement of the mid-sixties. Indeed, Berkeley’s protest culture has given the university a reputation for being a bastion for freedom of expression, which can be quite attractive to prospective students looking for a unique college experience. I know because I was once one of them. At Berkeley, so I thought, I would be immersed in an Eden of free speech, a liberal’s utopia, where all opinions were tolerated.

Unfortunately, I have found this idealistic vision of my university to be more fiction than fact nowadays. While Berkeley’s tolerance for free speech (for the most part) lives up to its reputation, my school has also come to tolerate many illiberal and even unlawful actions that make a mockery of the marketplace of ideas.

As University of Wisconsin -Madison professor Donald Downs pointed out in a recent article (which was also highlighted in a July blog post by Adam), Berkeley has a long history of allowing “free expression” to go too far. Just last November, a group of demonstrators illegally occupied a landmark building on campus, Wheeler Hall, for an entire school day in protest of recent tuition hikes while hundreds of supporters outside cheered them on. Although the police easily gained access to the building briefly after the occupation began, the administration insisted on hearing out the protesters’ demands, thus leading to a twelve-hour standoff in which an estimated 3,800 students were not allowed to attend classes-including many of my close friends.

Of course, the demonstrators have every right to express their frustration in a peaceful manner following the university’s reasonable, First-Amendment-compliant rules. Indeed, there had been several rallies in the preceding days in which their grievances were aired in a lawful fashion. However, by occupying a university building, subsequently damaging property, and denying thousands of students access to their paid education, the protesters went too far.

Legitimate exercise of the freedom of expression, after all, does not include disrupting classes or events, physical violence, or property destruction. Perhaps Oliver Wendell Holmes explained the limit of free expression best when he said, “The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins.” People are free to exhibit their anger in nonverbal ways up until the point where it interferes with the rights of others.

Therefore, although the intent of the Wheeler Hall occupants to end tuition hikes may have been noble, the vehicle through which they expressed their demands was not. In my experience, the failure of Berkeley’s administration and political activists is that they often confuse the two. As a result of this misunderstanding, any movement that claims to have good intentions (or is deemed as such by the administration) is essentially given a green light to violate campus rules and even state laws. Thus, civil libertarianism at Berkeley has often evolved into libertinism, as demonstrated through several events following the Wheeler Hall occupation.

For example, less than two weeks after the occupation, Chancellor Robert Birgeneau’s house was attacked when 40 to 75 protesters overturned plants, broke windows, and threw lit torches at police. “My wife and I genuinely feared for our lives,” recalled the Chancellor. Sadly, this is just one example of lawlessness. In February of this year, more than 200 rioters took to the streets of Berkeley, vandalizing private businesses, burning public property, and even hurling dumpsters at police. Berkeley’s student newspaper, The Daily Californian, captured the riot in this chilling video.

Unfortunately, Berkeley’s confusion about the limit of expression has morphed into some lawless protesters’ illiberal acceptance of violence as a means of activism. Such reckless actions do not promote freedom of speech but hinder it. How, after all, can two parties have a true exchange of ideas when one side is threatening violence? To be fair, the demonstrators who committed the illegal acts are a minority of the larger protest movement and are unrepresentative of the whole. However, this fact does not excuse the acceptance of lawlessness as a method of expression by many administrators, students, and protesters.

As a California Golden Bear, I am proud of my university’s history of open discourse. In practically everything, my college experience at Berkeley thus far has been everything I expected and more. I am unafraid to admit that I genuinely love my college. Yet, love is not equivalent to blind devotion. I recognize the faults in my school and urge it to change- partly because it is in my self-interest. The free exchange of ideas cannot survive where there is also a free exchange of fists. Until my university fully comprehends this principle, free speech will continue to be chilled by lawlessness at Berkeley.

President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has a long history of abusing his power to suppress political dissent.  He has taken over the nation’s media outlets, forcing them to broadcast his speeches and limiting the speech of his opponents.  Now he has moved to outright imprisonment for those who dare to speak against the government.

Oswaldo Álvarez Paz is a outspoken advocate of democracy in Venezuela who has been jailed by the Chavez regime for speaking out against the government.  He was arrested on March 22nd for his remarks on a television talk show

Oswaldo Alvarez Paz

acknowledging the fact that Venezuela has become a haven for drug trafficking.

A new initiative called Free Speech Venezuela has been formed to spread awareness about the free speech abuses.  Click here to learn more the prosecution of Oswaldo Alvarez Paz and abuse of free speech rights in Venezuela.

It is critical that as students for liberty we aide our Venezuelan allies in the fight for liberty.  Young leaders like 2008 Milton Freidman Prize winner Yon Goicoechea have built a strong student movement for democracy and free speech in Venezuela.  Now more than ever, with a critical election approaching, they need our help.  We must show our fellow students the abuses that Chavez is inflicting up on the Venezuelan people.  We must convince the rest of the world to stand up and demand that Chavez respect basic individual rights.

Join Free Speech Venezuela on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/FreeSpeechVenezuela

Then spread the word and invite your friends.

Anyone who has been through freshman orientation knows what a brainwashing experience it can be. Administrators and counselors spend days lecturing incoming students on what they cannot say on campus, what the campus police are allowed to do at their whim, and the many ways that students are supposed to conform to the university’s will.

We students who believe in liberty, though, think freshmen need to hear the other side of the story.  Students need to know that the US Constitution gives them rights that do not end at the entryway to the ivory tower, that freedom of speech is paramount in higher education and there are limits to police power.  That is why SFL will be sponsoring the first ever Students Rights Week.  We invite all pro-liberty student groups across the country to join us in this important venture to make known what rights students have on campus.

We will provide the materials. You put them in the hands of students at your university by flyering the campus, setting up a table in the public square, bringing in a speaker, and hosting a movie night. Available resources include:

• Pocket Constitutions
• Fliers, sign-up sheets, and other marketing materials
• A DVD of Indoctrinate U for movie night
• Free Indoctrinate U t-shirts
• Free books and information from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.
• A Students Rights Week “How To” guide
• A list of available speakers who specialize in free speech and student rights

Students Rights Week will be the first week of school on every campus, ideally after new student orientation has occurred. The motto is “You’ve learned their rules, now learn your rights!” Not only is this a chance to educate your campus about students rights, but it is an opportunity to spread word about your organization and recruit new members.

Click here to learn more.

If you are interested in joining students across the U.S. by hosting a Students Rights Week on your campus, email Clark Ruper at cruper@studentsforliberty.org.