It is good to know that some college students still value freedom of speech, even when it is ugly, juvenile, and wrongheaded. This Daily Tar Heel editorial calls out NC State Chancellor James Oblinger, as I did recently, for his willingness to shut down speech in the wake of the incident in NCSU’s Free Expression Tunnel. From the editorial (emphasis is mine):

The U.S. Supreme Court says public bodies cannot impose “special prohibitions on those speakers who express views on the disfavored subjects of ‘race, color, creed, religion or gender.’”

Last week Chancellor Oblinger wrote, “The North Carolina State University campus has clearly demonstrated that while we support free speech, we have a standard for uses of free speech.”

This statement flies in the face of the First Amendment. Speech held to a specific standard is by definition not free.

Of course, N.C. State’s reaction to offensive graffiti in its Free Expression Tunnel is understandable.

As reprehensible as hateful speech is, it clearly falls under the protection of the First Amendment, particularly in a “Free Expression” zone.

We ought to be glad this is the case. Because while free speech isn’t always pretty, it is certainly preferable to the alternative.

Correct. Problem is, Chancellor Oblinger and others who endorse restrictions on speech they have deemed “hateful” appear to have no concern that their actions are a step toward the alternative.