CURRY CHANDLER
Staff Writer
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., has never been known for electrifying public speaking, but a recent engagement proved to be energized in its own right. Monday, Sep. 17, Kerry spoke at the University of Florida. A question-and-answer forum with attendees followed his remarks. Andrew Meyer, 21, used this time to go on a 90-second rant about the illegitimacy of the 2004 presidential election, among other issues, and found himself surrounded by campus security officers when addressing Kerry. Afterwards he was carried to the rear of the auditorium where he was Tasered and arrested. Some students and pundits have rightfully decried the incident, which raises questions about students’ free speech rights.
Thankfully, no public excitement escapes unnoticed in our society of New Media. At least two people at the Kerry forum recorded video of the incident, which became a sensation online and on television almost immediately. And with that, this generation received a new rallying cry: “Don’t Tase me, bro!”
Meyer had three questions for Kerry: why did he conced the 2004 election despite evidence that he won; why Kerry did not call for impeaching Bush to stop an attack on Iran; and whether he was a member of Skull and Bones with Bush at Yale.
“So amidst all of these reports of phony, bogus stuff going on, how could you concede the election on the day?” Meyer asked Kerry. “How could you concede the 2004 election on the day? In this book, it says there were 5 million votes that were suppressed. Didn’t you want to be president?”
Campus police struggled with Meyer, dragging him to the back of the room while Kerry continued droning on in monotone pledging to answer the student’s questions and asking the audience to remain calm. As he continued plodding, the officers pinned Meyer to the floor and then Tasered him.
Pepperdine Public Safety officers said they are not equipped with Tasers and have never carried such deterrent devices.
There is a common misconception that is repeated ad nauseam at Pepperdine. I refer to the notion that citizens shed their First Amendment rights at school entrances; that attending a private organization requires adherence to the organization’s view of personal freedom and appropriate conduct. This is a belief I have heard espoused by both students and faculty members.
It is simply not true. This is why every Pepperdine student should be aware of the Leonard Law.
Named for state senator and law author Bill Leonard, the statute applies free speech protection provisions from the California state constitution to private colleges and universities. It was enacted in 1992.
Officials from the University of Florida charge that Meyer was acting disruptive prior to speaking and that the organizers of the forum had requested that campus police remove him from the event.
Meyer was charged with “resisting arrest with violence” against the student.
Does the idea behind these charges bother anyone else? Envision a scenario wherein you are grabbed by four police officers who attempt to forcibly detain you. You fight for your freedom and demand to know what crime you are guilty of, only to be told that you are “resisting arrest.” How likely is it that this scenario will happen at Pepperdine? Fortunately, because of state laws, it won’t.
California is the only state that affords First Amendment protections to its private postsecondary institutions. This is the crux of the Leonard Law. In other words, students attending a private college or university in California are entitled to the exact same First Amendment rights on campus as they would have off campus.
Yes, the Leonard Law even applies to the students at Pepperdine University. Although the school is affiliated with the Churches of Christ, it is not controlled and operated by any religious group. Were this to be the case, the Leonard Law would not apply to the school.
As a Pepperdine student you are entitled to full free speech protection as you would receive on public property and in any public forum. Though even the Leonard Law may not be able to redeem you from disrupting the proceeding of a Dean’s lecture series speaker.
09-27-2007
