Free Speech in the College Community [Hardcover]

Robert M. O'Neil (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 22, 1997

"This is an engaging and highly readable discussion of the intricacies of First Amendment jurisprudence as it is applied to the college campus." —The Law and Politics Book Review

"Lucidly written, the book can be read and understood by many audiences from student organizations to board members.... Essential for all college and university libraries." —Choice

"A pragmatic, libertarian-minded, and well-informed legal handbook for the First Amendment on campus..." —Kirkus Reviews

"... the most comprehensive and thorough examination of campus speech available today." —Harvard Educational Review

"Bob O'Neil has produced the seminal work on First Amendment freedoms on our university campuses. He has brought scolarship, clear thinking and clean prose to a book of critical importance to all of us." —Bruce W. Sanford

"Robert O'Neil has long been one of the brightest stars in the complex and controversial arena of freedom of expression. And he has never shined brighter and with more incisive clarity than with his new work, Free Speech in the College Community." —Richar A. Roth, Trustee of the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Freedom of Expression

"This is the first integrated discussion of the fascinating free speech issues that pertain to teachers and students. It is an unusually informative, vivid and balanced treatment and an absolute must read for all academics and students." —Norman Dorsen, former president of the American Civil Liberties Union

"Free Speech in the College Community is a very timely book written by a dedicated scholar of the First Amendment. Challenging and readable it should be studied by all academicians, students, legislators and lawyers." —Nancy Kassebaum Baker, United States Senator (retired)

All of today's "hot-button" issues are dealt with in this timely book, from Holocaust denial to claims of racial determination of intelligence to hate speech. Former college president Robert O'Neil dramatically illustrates the many types of problems that confront university administrators, frequently using representative fictional characters and discourse to present the situations. Free Speech in the College Community illustrates the many problems that now confront universities by questioning whether or not speech on campus should be freer than speech on the streets. Join the Web debate about free speech on campus: http://www.indiana.edu/~iupress/freespeech

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Real Life, few people's right to free speech is protected by tenure; on the other hand, what is "fair use" IRL is plagiarism on campus. O'Neil argues that academies are different from the rest of the world, and he should know. The director of the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression and the former president of the universities of Virginia and Wisconsin, O'Neil offers a patient, almost patronizing explanation of why universities cannot legally and should not morally curb speech. In each chapter he dramatizes issues through the use of letters and memoranda based on actual events. Each fictionalized exemplar is followed by a discussion held according to good Socratic method. Among the most intriguing are his discussions of e-mail, Internet access and what sort of power the university has over its electronic networks, as well as speech codes and the difficulties of defining just what real harassment is. O'Neil suggests that "resorting to such measures as curbing views or ideas implies that we lack (or failed to use) subtler means of persuasion." But the content is marred by O'Neil's fictional lawyers and administrators, a group as stodgy and dignified as the college bigwigs Groucho lampoons in Horsefeathers. And his reviews of celebrated cases (e.g., Leonard Jeffries's anti-Semitic comments while chairman of African Studies at CCNY) are fodder for abstractions rather than interesting reportage. O'Neil seems to see his duty as reminding his brother presidents that, as infuriating as students and professors are, they have to be treated in accordance with the Bill of Rights.

Copyright 1997 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"O'Neil's book deals with campus speech codes, speech and technology, off-campus speech, groups (gays, Greeks), free press, artistic expression, academic freedom, religious speech, and freedom of speech at private institutions. His postscript contains seven carefully crafted premises that should guide all discussions of freedom of speech issues on campus. The book ends with a seven-page annotated bibliography that cites some of the major literature, including William van Alstyne's brilliant work and William A. Kaplin and Barbara A. Lee's comprehensive and essential The Law of Higher Education (3rd ed., 1995). Lucidly written, the book can be read and understood by many audiences from student organizations to board members. O'Neil describes in adequate detail cases on larger campuses, most less than five years old, and quotes central passages from judicial decisions. The book displays the wisdom a former research university president (Virginia and Wisconsin) should have. O'Neil, now director of the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, writes from the perspective of someone who has Been there, struggled with that. Essential for all college and university libraries." —G. L. Findlen, Western Wisconsin Technical College, Choice, July 1997

(G. L. Findlen, Western Wisconsin Technical College Choice 1997)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press (February 22, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253332672
• ISBN-13: 978-0253332677
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,516,062 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Leading Text in contemporary First Amendment law, July 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Free Speech in the College Community (Hardcover)

Excellent. Robert O'Neil is the nation's foremost expert on the First Amendment. This is a brilliant look at free speech and the role of higher education. The role of free speech in higher education is in continual jeopardy and under constant scrutiny, a text like this could revolutionize the way you view free speech, the college community, and possibly the world. Of special note: O'Neil's discussion of the role of technology is particularly resonant.