Freedom
of Speech 
Freedom
of Speech
The Czech Republic vs. The United States
Chris Henry, Jennifer Lemkul, Brian Maher, Max Moldenhauer, Mike Richmond
US Reasoning
The United States constitution states in the First Amendment, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances...” (http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Amends) This basic statement of freedom of speech has been a long debated issue in America. It has been used to protect everything from Hustler parodies about Jerry Falwell to the rights of hate groups. However, in this situation, the government has given the right to Universities and businesses to control their property and resources through contracts and acceptable use policies, thereby restricting some personal freedoms. In the University’s defense, University officials would also mention the wealth of other ways to express views that are deemed inappropriate. These include the use of other free web hosts such as Geocities.
Many in the United States would disagree with a University’s apparent ability to circumvent the constitution. The United States’ position is far from set in stone since many people disagree with these policies. Opponents would argue that the University is inappropriately pushing certain values and morals on its students and stepping over the bounds of the Constitution. While the pro-marijuana site was taken down, they would never take down an anti-marijuana site with little or no reasoning other than the University’s stance that it is inappropriate.
The reasoning behind giving different punishment is simply to help catch others doing bad things, namely criminals. Accused criminals often sell out others involved in a crime to get a lesser sentence. In this case, the students were not criminals, but the initial student with the pro-marijuana site was given a lesser punishment than other individuals running unacceptable sites. While the subject matter of the other sites was different, many would argue that the basic offense was the same and the first student deserved the same punishment whether he had intentionally turned in the others out or not since “all men are created equal.” Fortunately or unfortunately, this practice is widely accepted, if not widely preferred.
Obviously, there is no clear-cut stance on these issues in the United States at this time. Currently, the University can do just about anything it deems to be appropriate.