Freedom of Speech and Media in the Digital Age

By Shawn Healy

On Monday September 17, in celebration of Constitution Day, the Homewood-Flossmoor Area chapter of The League of Women Voters is sponsoring a program of the above title. It will be held at the Prairie State College Auditorium from 7-9pm.

The program will feature an introductory speech by Dr. Larry Arnhart, professor of political science at Northern Illinois University. He will address the difficulties in interpreting the First Amendment, and emphasize the fact that citizens have a right and duty to interpret the Constitution according to its original language. In his words, the power of constitutional interpretation should not be left to judges alone.

A panel discussion will follow, of which I will serve as the moderator. I'll be joined by William Zieske, legal counsel for Bryan Cave in Chicago, who specializes as a library lawyer. The other panelist will be former Freedom Museum intern, and current University of Illinois-Champaign-Urbana student and Daily Illini reporter Riley Roberts. Collectively, we plan to address such questions as:

1. How free is student speech? Student newspapers?
2. Are your rights threatened? Are students' rights changing?
3. How do MySpace and other social networking sites affect individual free speech?
4. What can be printed on a t-shirt and worn in public school?
5. Internet filters and security versus media literacy?

The program is open to the public, and the content is particularly pertinent to local high school and college students. All attendees will receive a copy of Free Speech 3.0: Student Expression in the Digital Age, along with a personal pocket Constitution. Come one, come all, and help us celebrate this most important of days.