Tournament: HWL | Round: 1 | Opponent: IDK | Judge: IDK

Novice – Affirmative Constructive

I stand resolved that Public colleges and universities in the United States ought not restrict any constitutionally protected speech.

I begin by defining the following terms.

Random House Dictionary ~http://www.dictionary.com/browse/public?ando=100074ands=t~~
Public: maintained at the public expense and under public control:
Merriam Webster's
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refers to those basic protection guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

Next I move on to my Framework

My Value is personal liberty – each person must be able to make their own decisions and express their own ideas. This autonomy is a precondition for all other values – we must be able to Choose right from wrong in order for us to make moral decisions. We must be able to express those choices in order to communicate them with others.

My criteria is Free Speech. Free speech is the most important protection for personal liberty. Free speech is necessary to protect all other freedoms and values. It is important as a precondition for effective government decision making. The debate round is a perfect example of this – it is our speech in this round that is our expression of our beliefs and what makes debate an educational activity.

Cooray 1997 - Prof at Macquarie University ~Mark Freedom Of Speech And Expression http://www.ourcivilisation.com/cooray/rights/chap6.htm~~#6.1
6.1 Importance Of Freedom Of Speech And Expression The importance of free speech
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The sine qua non of a democratic society is the freedom of speech. 

Contention One – Colleges and Universities are Restricting Free Speech Now.

1. On campuses across the US, students, professors and administrators are faced with a difficult situation. Controversial topics like racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination have raised protests and dilemmas. On the one hand, these issues are important, and need to be discussed. On the other hand, all sides need to be heard in these discussions for them to be effective. In response to these difficult situations, many are advocating restrictions on free speech.

a. Protesters demanding trigger warnings or safe spaces insulate themselves from opposing opinions.

b. Administrators that crack down on protests limit the speech from students.

c. Speech codes punish students or faculty for expressing unpopular opinions.

d. Administrations that fire or deny tenure to professors for teaching unconventional ideas have their speech chilled.

2. Speech restrictions on campus are widespread – threats of punishments are chilling free speech

Friedersdorf 2016 - staff writer at The Atlantic ~Conor Mar 4, The Glaring Evidence That Free Speech Is Threatened on Campushttp://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/the-glaring-evidence-that-free-speech-is-threatened-on-campus/471825
To sum up: free speech on campus is threatened from a dozen directions.
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this fight. The marginalized college students of the future will thank them.

Contention Two – Speech Restrictions undermine Liberty.

1. Restricting speech that we find offensive is by definition a restriction on liberty, because it prevents a person from expressing their opinion. It is also counterproductive – the best answer to offensive speech is More Speech, not less. The best way to change someone's mind if they are biased is to point out their bias, not to prevent them from expressing it.

2. Movements for marginalized groups will only succeed if they respect divergent viewpoints. Calls for campus speech restrictions undermine this respect. If they call for speech restrictions, they will only provoke a reaction against the purpose of the group in the first place.

PEN America, 2016 ~AND CAMPUS FOR ALL Diversity, Inclusion, and Freedom of Speech at U.S. Universities October 17, https://pen.org/on-campus~~
While free speech is alive and well on campus, it is not free from
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can bleed into significant levels of self-censorship that suppress dissenting ideas.

3. College restrictions on free speech threaten democracy because they prevent student engagement with controversial opinions – controversial opinions are the most important ones to protect – they are the ones that push and challenge society, and are the only ones in need of protection. We wouldn't need the first amendment if the speech is already popular.

Mahoney, 2016 - Executive Director at Young Americans for Liberty ~Cliff Colleges Have No Right to Limit Students' Free Speech http://time.com/4530197/college-free-speech-zone/ Oct. 13~
America is a free-speech zone, period In grade school, I learned
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only a threat to the First Amendment, but also to American democracy.