#freespeechweek

Years ago, students gathered outside of Sproul Hall on the University of California Berkeley Campus to fight for their right of free speech. Today, after a week of protests and debate, the 'Free Speech Week' on Campus has been canceled. Since the controversial appearance of writer Milo Yiannopoulos had been shut down by violent protests in February, the school has faced continuing fights over free speech, hate speech, politics and political correctness, and the surrounding community had bloody clashes between extremists on the far left and the far right. Yiannopouls planned to exercise his constitutional right to free expression Sunday at Sproul Plaza on campus, the site of the historic Free Speech Movement protests of the 1960s that made UC Berkeley a symbol of First Amendment rights. That iconic setting, and the school's reputation as a politically liberal campus, have made it a magnet for controversial speakers this year. However, the events have been canceled due to safety issues on campus. #ucberkeley #freespeech #freespeechweek #freedomofspeech #berkeley #cal (at University of California, Berkeley)

I just realized that Milo's Free Speech Week is the same week as Banned Books Week. This is perfect.

UC Berkeley is world renown for its call for free speech. With this statement, the inclusion of all free speech, even opposing views must be included. This week there will are a series of events scheduled to take place that counter the principles of community that the university abides by. UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ addressed this issue in a message sent out to the campus community, in which she expresses her expresses her deep regret these disrupting events are causing for many members of the campus community. With past events having caused immense disruptions around campus, the events in the upcoming week are not to be viewed lightly. We will see in the following days how this situation will progress and how the campus will deal with its principles of free speech. #freespeech #freespeechweek #freespeechmovement #ucberkeley #berkeley Photograph of Mario Savio and FSM participants (at UC Berkeley)

This picture has become all to common for every UC Berkeley Student attempting to get to their classroom simply to go to lecture. For the past weeks, and especially this week due to this week being declared “Free Speech Week“, hundreds of police officers have been building barriers around campus for the sake of safety. According to the New York Times, which is where this pictures is from as well, the administration has spent $1 million dollars for these chaotic weeks for security at campus protests. The school has been solidiering up for the unexpected violent rallies on Sproul Plaza and will continue this process until safety is insured. This provides a huge distraction for the university which is struggling with a budget debt of $150 million. Also, Students are simply attempting to attend their classes, which are being canceled, and with this interrupting their learning environment. Ultimately, these situations are costing the university huge sums of money as well as scanting students scandalized value. #UCBerkeley #Freespeechweek #Cal #onCampus #Milo #NYTimes #Shapiro #Protests #Sproulplaza #Berkeley