OUR OPINION: Comments in the tunnel should not be censored with the exception of credible personal threats.
The statements that were painted in the Free Expression Tunnel Saturday night about the late coach Kay Yow shocked the Wolfpack community. They were disgusting, classless, rude, outrageous, but most of all they were legal.
These comments bring up the question of whether the Free Expression Tunnel should be monitored and restricted.
Even though the comments were distasteful and uncalled for, the University needs to realize the tunnel is open to all comments, with the exception of personal threats, and should remain this way. Student Body President Jay Dawkins said the University is not considering censoring the tunnel, and we commend them.
It is difficult to say these comments should be allowed, but every village has an idiot. There will always be someone who is going to tempt the University to have restrictions on what goes in the Free Expression Tunnel, but denying the right of free speech is a violation of the First Amendment, even for morons.
We said this after the University met with the NAACP to consider a hate speech policy after four students wrote racist and threatening messages in the Free Expression Tunnel in November, and we’ll say it again. The University should not restrict a person’s rights.
Also, if you are offended by anything in the Free Expression Tunnel, paint over it. The University should not have to cover these types of messages. Facilities should not have to use its money and labor to paint over it. To use money from its budget to do something students should be responsible for is unreasonable, especially with recent budget cuts.
The Free Expression Tunnel and Brickyard Subcommittee suggests the C-stores and book stores carry spray paint. This would help students who have no other way of buying paint, so they can express themselves.
Some may think that C-stores carrying spray-paint is a recipe for disaster. But there’s also the potential of a student placing a plastic bag from the C-store over his/her head and suffocating. In other words, the potential for abuse will always be there, but the University should trust its students’ judgement.
The tunnel should be monitored by students, and if something illegal is found on the wall, then students should be the ones to report it to the proper authorities.
We don’t agree with what people wrote in the tunnel on Saturday, but just because their opinion was unpopular and disrespectful doesn’t mean it should be banned.
If the University starts censoring people’s opinions in the Free Expression Tunnel, it may turn into a slippery slope. What if the University decides that it must approve all messages or images in the tunnel beforehand?
The Free Expression Tunnel has its title for a reason. We ask the University to not censor people’s opinions in the Free Expression Tunnel, no matter how offensive the content is.
