We Don’t Need No First Amendment

University Bans ChalkDePaul University has banned chalk.  This to prevent hate speech being promoted on campus. I am sure that some scholar will be able to differentiate between spoken “free speech and political speech’ and speech scratched on a sidewalk.  After all the college is not banning free expression just one of the means to do do.

Here are examples of the free expression of ideas found on other campuses. Can you identify the one that has DePaul so upset?

The first amendment guarantees freedom of  “expression” that includes the implements with which to do so.  

The May 11, 2015 “Washington Post reports: The federal trial court decision two weeks ago in Ballentine v. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department holds that it’s not constitutional, if it’s applied selectively based on viewpoint.

This means that a ban on writing on sidewalks may be permissible as long as the ban addresses the medium and not a particular message. For a discussion of chalking, posting of signs, and banners see: The Washington Post.