Democratic Radio "No Campus Gag Rule" Print
Commentary
Written by Wisconsin Assembly Democrats   
Saturday, 24 June 2017 08:45

uw-mdsn-studentsMADISON – Today, Rep. Terese Berceau (D-Madison) offered the Democratic Weekly Radio Address on the Assembly bill that represses free speech on Wisconsin's university campuses:

"Your legislature should not be setting itself up as big government policing free expression on campus," Rep. Berceau said. "This is bill is about chilling protests – sending a message to students and faculty to be careful not to offend conservatives. This is a dangerous encroachment on free speech principles that have been in place since 1791."

The audio file of this week’s address can be found here, and the video can be found here.

A written transcript of the address is below:

terese_berceau"Hello, I’m Representative Terese Berceau with this week’s Democratic Radio Address

"Last night, Assembly Republicans passed a gag rule on free speech on college campuses. Citing incidents with speakers in other states, not Wisconsin, Republicans want to suspend and even expel students who are alleged to have interfered with someone’s right to speak.

"The University has disciplinary rules on the books already. There are campus and city police to deal with major disruptions. Your legislature should not be setting itself up as big government policing free expression on campus.

"This is bill is about chilling protests – sending a message to students and faculty to be careful not to offend conservatives. This is a dangerous encroachment on free speech principles that have been in place since 1791. Liberal and conservative speakers have been, and still are, challenged when they speak on campuses because colleges are places of clashing ideas that are the catalyst for intellectual growth. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. Democrats will defend the rights of everyone to speak on campus."

Last Updated on Friday, 14 July 2017 11:20