Warning: that "free speech zone" at Arizona State is a total joke

I thought people were exaggerating until I tried handing out fliers about the history of punk music near the student union and a rent-a-cop told me I had to register 72 hours in advance for a specific 4x4 foot spot. The zone was literally behind a dumpster next to the loading dock. Has anyone else gotten the runaround with these designated zones?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jason1mo ago

Did they at least give you a map to the dumpster spot or did you have to just sniff it out? I remember walking through some campus in Ohio and their "free speech zone" was basically a sidewalk crack between two buildings where the sun never hit, and you had to sign a waiver saying you wouldn't block the path. Makes you wonder if these zones were designed by the same people who plan airport security lines.

ryan_clark401mo ago

I remember reading a piece in the Chronicle of Higher Education a few years back about how these "free speech zones" started popping up after the 1960s protests. The article said they were meant to control where people could gather rather than actually protect free speech. What you described sounds exactly like what happened at a community college my nephew goes to in Texas. Their designated zone is literally a fenced-in concrete pad behind the parking garage. The 72 hour notice rule they gave you is the real kicker though. That basically kills any kind of spontaneous political or cultural expression, which is the whole point of having a public campus in the first place.