Good night and good luck

 Dear Editor,

Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak without censorship or limitation. While Americans consider this a birthright, much of the world must fight for this freedom even though it is recognized as a human right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. John Stuart Mill argued that truth derives out of falsity; therefore the free expression of ideas, true or false, should not be feared. He believed freedom of opinion and freedom of expression were necessary to the mental well being of mankind.

In 1979, I had the rare opportunity to see China shortly after it opened its economy to the West. I remember Custom guards dressed in military uniforms in a room filled with era 1930s American décor that seemed to stop in time. I saw only military government vehicles; everyone else was on a bicycle or walking. China today is the fourth-largest economy in the world with high-rise buildings, personal automobiles, technology and even Internet access. Not until recently did I learn companies providing Internet service in China were required to censor Internet searches. I was shocked to read that Google, Yahoo and Microsoft had agreed to these terms. For me, this was a harsh reminder that the appearance of a developed country does not mean the people have protected human rights.

I often think of this university as a tiny country with its own culture, political arena, problems and solutions. Freedom of information and expression is critical in resolving our present university concerns over financial decisions by the administration, loss of class sections for students, increased tuition and furloughed personnel. Free debate supported by accurate information helps identify the truth and falsity of an issue. With this, we can find solutions to our problems.

SSU recently created a blog for comments on the draft of the "Campus Expression: Time, Place and Manner" policy currently being revised. When I took a look at the draft I was concerned by several things and anxiously began to outline my comments. In the original version of this opinion piece, I asked the campus community to join me in posting a comment on the "Campus Expression" blog. If you were unsure of where our constitutional rights begin and end, but would like to show support and appreciation for the freedoms we enjoy daily, I asked you to submit a comment that you are in support of an expression policy with the "broadest freedoms the U.S. Constitution and California Constitution will allow; nothing less will do!"

Then my soapbox opinion piece suddenly turned into reality. I attempted to post my own comments and found it so intimidating, I declined to sign in. The intimidating nature of this blog will cause others to decline to comment. This gives the impression the campus doesn't care when in actuality, the campus doesn't trust. There needs to be an anonymous option for input. Otherwise, are we really better off than modern China?

~ VaLinda Kyrias