First Amendment Rights Denied UofA College Republicans

Censorship and violating freedom of speech is alive and well in the heart of Tucson at the University of Arizona. On Thursday night, after a meeting of the UA College Republicans, some members took the opportunity to express their support for President Donald Trump in posing with a large flag at the Student Union Memorial Center.

After the minimal demonstration, many of the participants shared photos and uploaded them to Wildfire, an app similar to Twitter that caters to university students.  Shortly after sharing the photos, at least one student posted a picture to the social media site where it had been reported and removed.

The home of the National Institute for Civil Discourse seems to believe in anything but civil discourse and true diversity of thought. Additionally, it is more of the rule than the exception that social media sites are seeking to silence conservative voices and opinions.  Ironically, social media and institutions of higher education seem to be operating with parallel ideologies.

During the meeting, a speaker asked the members if they were afraid to share their opinions and thoughts with their professors and classmates for fear of being ostracized or punished academically for having a contradictory viewpoint. Most of the students present acknowledged their hesitance or straight refusal to express their deeply held opinions or thoughts.

The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees the right to free speech which has been held to include that which is not liked or may be deemed offensive. Censorship of openly supporting the President of the United States cannot be permitted in a free society let alone on a public university.

While Wildfire might be a privately held company, suppressing the free exercise of speech and thought elevates it to the level of the Thinkpol or thought police as described by Orwell in 1984.