Carolina Journal defends the Free Expression Tunnel

Campus News General Media Tradition86

The Free Expression Tunnel is a unique feature to NC State, but it has come under fire recently. A few jerks wrote some offensive racial comments in the tunnel after election night aimed at Barack Obama, but all the authorities brought in to investigate prevented them from being expelled and brought up on charges of “hate crimes,” since they wrote in a place that openly invites “Free Expression.” So now the entire UNC system is holding meetings to try to write new student codes to include “hate speech.”

NC State alumnus Jon Sanders at Carolina Journal today defends the Free Expression Tunnel as a thoroughly collegiate, adult approach to speech in a free society:

In short, the Free Expression Tunnel is a robust monument to free speech, one that looks even stouter in comparison with other universities’ fearful, flaccid approach to speech, where anything that might be construed as potentially disrupting someone’s comfort is the worst thing imaginable. With “Tuffy” the Strutting Wolf mascot swaggering about with his chest thrust out proudly, however, it would simply not do for the university he represented to be a panic of screaming mimis when it came to an offensive graffito. This is a research university containing many of the state’s highest minds, after all.

Sanders says that if UNC wishes to take a lesson from the Free Expression Tunnel to apply it to the entire system, then rather than use it as an example of why free expression cannot be tolerated by top thinkers in the state, it should be used as a model for how thinking people in a free society can learn to deal with speech, even if it offends them to the core:

Rather than wasting time hammering out speech policies that are bound to be unconstitutional and are demonstrably unnecessary anyway (some scribbles at one university on one day on a “free expression” wall means it’s high time to rewrite the speech codes throughout the whole system?), it would be much wiser to drop the issue entirely and let N.C. State students return to their time-tested, well-practiced way of dealing with free expression that’s offensive: ignore it, drown it out, or just clown it on the side. If UNC wants to export a lesson from the Free Expression Tunnel, what better lesson could they find? Imagine: UNC students systemwide able to deal with offensive ideas with aplomb rather than immediately being reduced to a mewling, quivering heap.

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Campus News General Media Tradition

86 Responses to Carolina Journal defends the Free Expression Tunnel

  1. buttPACKer 01/16/2009 at 10:50 AM #

    touche, bradley123. . . the last time i checked “kill the n—er” and “hang that n—er Obama” ARE indeed physical threats.

  2. Gene 01/16/2009 at 10:55 AM #

    Tons of offensive and assinine things end up on the FEP tunnel. Had a couple of friends, who got drunk and wrote swear words on part of it.

    Anything really offensive will just get painted over. It’s part of what make’s NCSU unique.

    Regarding campuse beautification, there’s only so much you can do, when your campus is in the middle of a city. Maybe tear up the brickyard, and replace it with a rolling green lawn, but other than that, there’s not a whole lot to do on the Main Campus.

    I think a more telling issue, for campus life, is the decline of Hillsborough street, over the past 10-12 years, though driving by it in December it did seem to be doing better than I had remembered a few years ago.

    Some parts of downtown Raleigh are showing signs of a nightlife, but somehow to get Hillsoborough street and downtown Raleigh connected by a reliable bus service seems to be too difficult or costly for the city to undertake. It’d do wonders for campus life and the local economy, if students had places they could go at night and not be dependent on driving there.

  3. buttPACKer 01/16/2009 at 11:02 AM #

    personally, pakfanistan, i’d like to see us get off the “world’s ugliest campuses” list before I die. . . I’d like to see the wrecking-ball swing against harrelson hall, as well. AND, I was very happy to see our homage to the Coliseum–i.e. Riddick Stadium–finally brought down.

    I don’t have a problem with campus beautification. . .

  4. Gene 01/16/2009 at 11:08 AM #

    “I’d like to see the wrecking-ball swing against harrelson hall”

    The dorm’s on West Campus are more worthy of that sort of “beautification” treatment, from an asthetic point of view.

  5. ppack3 01/16/2009 at 11:09 AM #

    I still don’t get the argument to “clean up” campus by getting rid of the tunnel. It is a TUNNEL! Under a train track! Who sees this tunnel, aside from those who walk through it? People coming out of the Bookstore? I admit, when Reynolds was the home of the Pack’s basketball team, a lot more people saw the things that were written. But, then again, I recall some pretty tough language in those days too. On the other hand, there were times I laughed out loud, on the way to class, at some of the things that were painted by our brethren. This wall REPRESENTS a “real world” freedom, and how to deal with these rights as an adult. It is a microcosm for a big world lesson, as is so many of the lessons learned in college.

  6. buttPACKer 01/16/2009 at 11:14 AM #

    that was just north campus, gene. . . BTW, Hillsborough Street is slated for a complete redo.

    Brick plazas are fine, but you can landscape around and within them. . . Replace the loblolly pines with some magnolias–or whatever. We can keep our identity and be beautiful, I just don’t want our identity to NOT be beautiful.

  7. pakfanistan 01/16/2009 at 11:15 AM #

    personally, pakfanistan, i’d like to see us get off the “world’s ugliest campuses” list before I die. . . I’d like to see the wrecking-ball swing against harrelson hall, as well. AND, I was very happy to see our homage to the Coliseum–i.e. Riddick Stadium–finally brought down.

    I don’t have a problem with campus beautification. . .

    So you would trade ideals for prettiness? It’s like Forrest Gump’s mama always said, pretty is as pretty does.

    Besides, there are about a million things other than the FEP that are standing in our way from being a pretty campus. The gum wall being one. The fact that NONE of our buildings match. The fact that we border Hillsborough street, which has been left to languish.

    And our buildings don’t match for a reason. A large part of it stems from the fact that we don’t have a budget like Duke or UNC. We just have to get it done, and we did. It’s like the humanities buildings, Winston, Caldwell and Tompkins. Caldwell wasn’t funded as a building. NC State needed more space but there was a moratorium on new construction. Caldwell was proposed as a “covered walkway” which WAS funded. So, we got our building, even if it does stand out a little.

    Enjoy our campus for what it is, an eclectic mess that grew out of a little poor planning and few chances, and a lot of necessity.

    And Riddick Stadium is gone.

    Basically, what I’m getting at here is, you have no idea what you’re talking about.

  8. beowolf 01/16/2009 at 11:16 AM #

    bPer (this is a parody alias or a troll, and not serious, right?) apparently didn’t “check” with the authorities, who all said those things written that night weren’t threats, weren’t hate speech, and weren’t crimes.

    It was fairly obvious to most that what those dorks wrote that night was the Free Expression Tunnel equivalent of “posting after a loss” — you know, when you get on SFN and pop off at the mouth because your team lost and wind up having posts deleted and being suspended, until you learn to step away from the computer when you’re that upset.

    They no more intended to lynch Obama than their predecessors on the other side of the political aisle for the last eight years intended to [have sex with] Bush.

  9. 61Packer 01/16/2009 at 11:17 AM #

    Please, no more politics on this website. Can’t we just talk about Jed instead?

  10. Sam92 01/16/2009 at 11:20 AM #

    good stuff, and glad to hear that the free expression tunnel is still there almost 20 years later, and the same

    let’s not forget that the people who wrote those offensive obama slurs were actually following the rules — they did it in the free expression tunnel, when they could easily have done it somewhere else

    let’s also not forget that free expression in that radical, offensive manner is indeed restricted; in this case it’s restricted to the walls of the free expression tunnel. no one would expect to be able to do that elsewhere without risk of consequences, of one sort or another

    it’s easy to respect palatable speech, we really show our commitment to our principles when we defend offensive speech – but the defense here is so limited that it should be an easy case, all we’re defending is those brats right to put that graffiti in one relatively small space, and only for so long as it takes for someone else to come along and write over it

    does anyone know if these calls for punishment and expulsion were entirely rhetorical, i.e., made with full knowledge that the identity of the perps is never going to be known? i suspect so, which makes it even more ridiculous

  11. TopTenPack 01/16/2009 at 11:22 AM #

    Gary the Brickyard Preacher is one of the most offensive people I have ever met. He pointed me out of a crowd once an called me a drunk frat boy fornicator. I won’t argue his assessment, but I believe that is outside polite conversation.

    I am upset that these morons gave NC State a black eye, but regulating speech is not the answer. Like we have done for years with Gary, ignoring or pointing and laughing seems like the best answer.

  12. ChiefJoJo 01/16/2009 at 11:25 AM #

    I’m also torn by this. The act was reprehensible, a massive embarrassment to our university, and one I totally disagree with to my core. I do think there is a special set of circumstances in this case, and of course that is that Mr. Obama is our President-elect, and therefore is given special protection from threats by the Secret Service. Legally, I’m not sure how threats to the President (-elect) are considered w/r/t the 1st amendment, but it would seem to complicate the issue.

    Legal opinions aside, where do you draw the line? I was driving on a rural NC highway last week and saw the words “Obama must die.” Others have probably seen many of the same ignorant scribbling elsewhere across the state or the country, but because of the location and context, NCSU gets tarnished.

    Instead of trying to craft new restrictive speech policies, our time would be better spent as a university addressing the root instead of the manifestations of bigotry. Through housing and other campus policies, we should encourage more diversity in dorms, classes, campus events, and other social and academic settings. Fortunately, I came to NCSU as someone who had been exposed to other cultures prior to arriving on campus. I recall many others who may have lived in rural NC counties, and thus did not have the same exposure. Like it or not, this has always been a problem with our school–perhaps our Ag heritage plays a role here. In any case, rather than attacking our liberties, we should attack the hate that produced these heinous, idiotic acts.

  13. buttPACKer 01/16/2009 at 11:26 AM #

    “And Riddick Stadium is gone”

    I know. . I said i was happy to see it go.. . there is nothing wrong with eclectic styles of architecture.. . (Actually, that is one thing I really LOVE about State.) It’s all about landscaping–I don’t mean grass lawns, but rather good landscaping. We have the basis for a great and unique campus. . . It just needs cleaning up–And I have to say that it is world’s better now, than when I was there in the early 90’s. They’ve done a helluva job cleaning the place up. . . It is headed in the right direction, but there is still much to be done.

  14. pakfanistan 01/16/2009 at 11:28 AM #

    I know. . I said i was happy to see it go.. .

    Whoops, reading is FUNdamental.

    Fine 😛

  15. bradleyb123 01/16/2009 at 11:31 AM #

    “touche, bradley123. . . the last time i checked “kill the n—er” and “hang that n—er Obama” ARE indeed physical threats.”

    Actually, no they aren’t (at least, not in THIS context). They are not REALISTIC threats which is the wording I used. This was investigated by the SECRET SERVICE and it was determined that there was no real threat or intent to harm Obama. If they determined it to be a threat, these kids WOULD have been charged. I’m sure a lot of people WANTED to charge them, but could not.

    If the Secret Service had found weapons in their dorm room, a map to the inauguration, and plane tickets to DC, then they may have considered it more of a tangible threat. But they just determined that this was just rantings of some racist buffoons.

  16. old13 01/16/2009 at 11:35 AM #

    “I do not think the leaders of our school could have handled this any worse.” What leaders! Oh, you mean Mediocrity-Among-the-Good Ol’-Boys, Inc.!

  17. ppack3 01/16/2009 at 11:35 AM #

    I swear, Gary the Brickyard Preacher HAS to have a night job, and a wife and kids, right? Like the guy at the bottom of the beltline off-ramp at Glenwood Ave. How is he still around? I don’t know anyone that he hasn’t offended. Maybe we should regulate him to the FET.

  18. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 01/16/2009 at 11:42 AM #

    “BTW, Hillsborough Street is slated for a complete redo.”

    And has been for the last 20 years. The difference is the city want to do it instead of the free market. The free market has redone the Glennwood South area started reconstructioin 10 years after the first Hillsborough Street plans and completed, to date before they got one thing done on Hillsbourough St. Free market v. Government.

    “Maybe tear up the brickyard, and replace it with a rolling green lawn”

    The reason the brickyard was built was because the area became a mud pit/swamp during a light rain.

    The reason Carter-Finley’s field isn’t flat is be it is in the bottom of a pond. Good luck to TOB flattening the field and recreating the pond for rainy games.

  19. Alpha Wolf 01/16/2009 at 11:44 AM #

    “i’d like to see us get off the “world’s ugliest campuses” list before I die”

    Indeed. Centennial Campus is a step in the right direction.

    But I didn’t go to State for pretty.

    “The reason Carter-Finley’s field isn’t flat is be it is in the bottom of a pond. Good luck to TOB flattening the field and recreating the pond for rainy games.”

    At Pinehurst, when they rebuilt the greens for the first US Open, they put a drainage system with a vacuum to draw water down in each of them. There’s no reason why NC State could not do that for the field at CFS.

  20. buttPACKer 01/16/2009 at 11:54 AM #

    “But I didn’t go to State for pretty.”

    Me either, but it would have been nice!

  21. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 01/16/2009 at 12:13 PM #

    “At Pinehurst, when they rebuilt the greens for the first US Open, they put a drainage system with a vacuum to draw water down in each of them. There’s no reason why NC State could not do that for the field at CFS.”

    Just what NC State needs to be spending money on- Installing a water vacuuming system on a field that is perfectly fine the way it is. Maybe the next thing State could spend money on tearing down the Murphy Center and rebuild another one. I guess this makes sense for a school that had a great basketball arena only to build an awful one.

  22. El Scrotcho 01/16/2009 at 12:18 PM #

    We need more expression not less. Expression allows us to have a debate and serves to remind us that idiotic/painful points of view still exist. We don’t learn anything and we don’t progress when we simply ban dicussion.

    In this case you had the vast majority of the campus responding in strong and united opposition to these ideas. They actually put down their XBOXs and thought and acted. Isn’t everyone involved a more educated, and thoughtful person on the other side. Aren’t we having a great dicussion right now because of it?

  23. Alpha Wolf 01/16/2009 at 12:18 PM #

    You might want to ask Tom O’Brien if he thinks the field at CFS “is perfectly fine the way that it is” — he apparently doesn’t think that it is and asked for the improvement. Since TOB is not a man of unreasonable demands or one who is given to histrionics, I take his opinion as one that is meaningful.

  24. Alpha Wolf 01/16/2009 at 12:20 PM #

    As for the free market being entirely responsible for Glenwood South’s redevelopment, I seem to remember the city having more than a little bit to do with that area in the form of tax incentives, etc. Is that correct?

  25. com state10 01/16/2009 at 12:44 PM #

    There are plenty of other sites to debate the free market.

    I am not yelling for the tunnel to stop being of free expression. I just don’t really care if they decide that it’s in the best interest in the students and local community to end it.

    We have a lot of issues we need to address at our school and within our campus outside of the tunnel. I know state alumni and fans enjoy the freedoms the tunnel provide.

    In the grand scope of the university, it does not really help much of anything. We have some really good things going on in Raleigh, and I hate for it to be tarnished by incidents in a tunnel.

    Personally, I’d rather take the expression out of the wall before a couple more incidents occur, and more embarrassment comes our way. We deserve to have the better things going on at STATE get more of the attention.

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