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Disrupted

Debates over the 1st Amendment on college campuses

By Wayne Edwards,
Kevin Chang Barnum, Khalilah Brown-Dean, Meg Dalton, Catie Talarski
Published February 7, 2024 at 1:33 PM EST
Pro-Israel protestors holding signs of the hostages held by Hamas argue with Pro-Palestinian protestors near a demonstration at Columbia University on February 02, 2024 in New York City.
Alexi J. Rosenfeld
/
Getty Images
Pro-Israel protestors holding signs of the hostages held by Hamas argue with Pro-Palestinian protestors near a demonstration at Columbia University on February 02, 2024 in New York City. The demonstrations were held in solidarity with Pro-Palestinian protesters that were allegedly attacked during a protest two weeks ago on the university campus. Pro-Palestinian University organizations alleged that two people attacked multiple protestors with a 'skunk' stink-bomb during a January 19th protest on campus. Multiple arrests occurred following clashes between the NYPD and protestors as they marched around the exterior of Columbia and Barnard-Columbia, before being pushed down Broadway.

This hour on Disrupted, we discuss the First Amendment and its impact on higher education.

College campuses are in the spotlight as students have continued to hold protests since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. There have been allegations of antisemitic, anti-Muslim, and anti-Palestinian speech at some protests — and that’s left many wondering how to address harmful speech without curbing free expression.

First Amendment Specialist Kevin Goldberg explains the five protections covered in the amendment. Wesleyan University President Michael Roth talks about his role as a university administrator and how to provide safe spaces for students. Connecticut college students share their thoughts on free speech.

GUESTS:

  • Kevin Goldberg: First Amendment Specialist, Freedom Forum.
  • Michael Roth: President, Wesleyan University and author of Safe Enough Spaces: A Pragmatist’s Approach to Inclusion, Free Speech, and Political Correctness.
  • Elle: Student, Yale University
  • Thomas: Student, University of New Haven
  • AJ: Student, University of New Haven

Disrupted is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Disrupted
Wayne Edwards
Wayne Edwards is a freelance producer at Connecticut Public contributing to multi-platform productions, including ‘Disrupted’, ‘Where Art Thou?’, and ‘Cutline in the Community’.<br/><br/>
See stories by Wayne Edwards
Kevin Chang Barnum
Kevin Chang Barnum is a producer for Connecticut Public Radio’s weekly show Disrupted. Kevin grew up in Connecticut and started his radio work at his graduate university’s radio station, KUCI. He has also worked for HRN, a network of food and beverage podcasts.
See stories by Kevin Chang Barnum
Khalilah Brown-Dean
Dr. Khalilah L. Brown-Dean is an award-winning scholar at Wesleyan University, author, and host of 'Disrupted' on Connecticut Public.
See stories by Khalilah Brown-Dean
Meg Dalton
Meg Dalton is the director of audio storytelling and talk shows for Connecticut Public where she oversees the station’s talk shows and podcasts, including the limited series 'In Absentia'.
See stories by Meg Dalton
Catie Talarski
Catie Talarski is Senior Director of Storytelling and Radio Programming at Connecticut Public.
See stories by Catie Talarski

Funding provided by:
The Connecticut Office of Film, Television and Digital Media