Assistant communications professor Melissa Click, of the University of Missouri's School of Journalism, resigned on Tuesday after she was recorded challenging a student journalist in an attempt to prevent him from taking photos on a public quad. University of Missouri System President Tim Wolfe resigned a week after the video was posted, due to a series of protests after his lack of response to racial incidents
In the video, Click is demanding a student journalist leave a public area, proceeds to push his camera, and asks for reinforcement shouting: "Hey, who wants to help me get this reporter out of here? I need some muscle over here," pointing to the student journalist.
The First Amendment right to the United States Constitution "prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances."
As a student reporter, or even simply as a human being in this nation, these journalists have a civic right and duty to report what's going on in the world around us. Being blocked and pushed by an angry mass of students, forming a wall with their bodies and hands in an attempt to take away these student journalists' right to free speech, is deplorable.
It is even more appalling to see a communications professor participating in such an unprofessional manner. Of all individuals, Click, who had a courtesy appointment as a professor in the Missouri School of Journalism, should understand and respect the right to free speech and free press for the world's right to remain informed.
This isn't about the situation of what happened, and arguably, there is no evidence which has surfaced to support the claims made. It's about the fact that one group of students (#ConcernedStudent1950), entitled to their right to speak freely, do not believe that other students (the "media") have their free right to report and speak openly as well. The very fact that these Missouri students verbally and physically attacked the few student journalists for having a voice shows the underlying double standard in the modern world.
The journalists were not rioting or behaving in such a way that should have them forced off the public area. Again, this was a public area. This is not only occurring in Missouri, but on other college campuses as well, including Yale University and Ithaca College.
Student body vice president Brenda Smith announced to the media how she felt the First Amendment was creating a hostile environment for her, and that she's tired of it. Without her First Amendment right, Smith wouldn't even be able to freely make a statement like that, so to say that she's tired of it is a contradiction.
All students, all human beings, are entitled to free press and their First Amendment right to speak openly. In this day and age, everyone is sensitive towards and will be offended by the slightest thing they don't agree with. Having and expressing an opinion should not be held back simply because it may hurt someone's feelings or because not everyone will agree with it. Opinions are not facts, they are not meant to be completely agreed upon by all.
There's a very fine line between what is ethical to be reported in the media and what could be considered hate speech versus non-hate speech. However, simply having an opinion and upholding your civic duty to free speech shouldn't be held against anyone. The news is the news, and there's nothing capable of preventing journalists, or anyone for that matter, from reporting it. More individuals should take their First Amendment right more seriously, and not uphold this double standard that journalists don't have a right to be in public areas to do their job, while other non-media members of society do.
