Freedom
of Speech 
Freedom
of Speech
The Czech Republic vs. The United States
Chris Henry, Jennifer Lemkul, Brian Maher, Max Moldenhauer, Mike Richmond
Scenario Aspects
Parties Involved
Virginia Tech
Three students directly involved
The general student population of Virginia Tech
Alumnus of Virginia Tech
Authorities dealing with infraction
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Alumnus noticed a page on Virginia Tech’s server created by a student |
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The page had pictures of marijuana plants, and links to places where paraphernalia could be purchased |
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University has a policy against promoting drug and alcohol use |
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University also has a policy prohibiting “inappropriate use” of the school computers |
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The homepages were on university servers |
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The first student was asked to reveal other homepages that were similar |
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The pages the student revealed had content supporting white supremacy, and some others dealing with drugs |
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All students involved had their web page privileges removed (and could reapply later) |
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The initial student got his privileges back far before the others, and had to redo his page |
The Dilemma
Does Virginia Tech have the right to independently regulate what is on their
servers? Were the punishments that
the three students received fair? Were
the punishments appropriate for the violations committed by the students?
Were the students’ rights to freedom of speech violated in any way?
The Options To Be Considered
If a similar situation
were to arise, the following options would be available:
-The University could revoke the students’ privileges of having homepages on
Virginia Tech’s
servers. A decision would have to
be made about whether or not to treat all students differently or give
preference to some of the students involved.
-The University could do nothing, and let these pages be protected.
-The University could only target specific pages (either the drug related ones, or the ones dealing with racial issues).
Values Involved In Scenario
Allowing the University to censor these websites restricts student speech.
Information on the websites was found offensive to some, and others promote drug use.
Who should define what is acceptable or “appropriate” use of the school’s computers?
Should
not the University be trying to promote free speech and expression?
Primary Values and Recommendations
Values:
Censoring of homepages limits student speech and expression
University’s ability to censor the content of their own servers
Recommendations:
The University should deal with the situation in a similar fashion so as not to
contradict an earlier judgment, but should treat
all students involved equally, and not reward the first student for disclosing
information about similar pages.