A recent flap about a UM student's right to wave a confederate flag from his dorm room has brought up the bigger question about rights in general. When it comes to banning certain things at a university, should it be an all or nothing approach? http://missoulian.com/...c002e0.html
Using past case history and laws that cover a persons First Amendment rights, we can determine what can and cannot be allowed on campuses.
The ability to use our rights to give our opinions is one of the corner stones that our country is founded on. If we silence everyone that disagrees with the prevailing view, we will no longer have the country these rights were set out to protect.
This doesn't mean I want to see a cross burning on someone's yard, but it is a person's right to have those beliefs and to vocalize them.
People are not guaranteed all rights everywhere.
By living on school property they give up certain rights.
If they don't like this, they can live elsewhere.
Since the inside of the dorm is classified as a "private residence", the flag is allowed inside. To not allow it based on "discomfort" as stated in the article would bypass constitutional rights. Discomfort is a subjective state (politicial correctness) that may allow a majority or minority to impose tyranny over the opposite side, as opposed to a fair and impartial determination of the law and constitutional issues. It's possible that the occupant is a bigot or racist by some people's standards, but it's also possible that he is a scholar and student of the 'Civil War' and favors the political position held by the Confederacy in that conflict. Bigotry is not against the law, although offensive to some. Political positions and speech are certainly protected by the constitution
My understanding is that the student in question put the flag up in a common area that was not considered a "public forum" in the legal sense. If he put the flag up in his own dorm room, or in an approved public forum specifically designated for such purposes, then the student would have had the first amendment right to put the flag up. Anywhere else? Nope.
This topic, and the initial choices to ban nothing or everything, grossly oversimplifies the issue and is unbecoming of an alleged "journalism" organization.
The flag was originally hung in a "common" area and he was asked to remove it, correct. He complied. It was, however, rehung in a private area (his window) and he was yet again asked by the university to remove it.
I can't help but think it is somewhat hypocritical that students, along with the university, protested his displaying of this flag inside and outside his dorm but apparently have no problems with someone breaking into his room and stealing it. Strange that there are no complaints about someone breaking into a students room...
Checking.... 
on September 15th, 2009. Tags: confederate flag, controversy, education, montana, politics, rights, um
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This topic, and the initial choices to ban nothing or everything, grossly oversimplifies the issue and is unbecoming of an alleged "journalism" organization.
jsgarvin, you should put up an answer you think is appropriate then. I agree the everything/nothing seeded answers are absurd.
The flag was originally hung in a "common" area and he was asked to remove it, correct. He complied. It was, however, rehung in a private area (his window) and he was yet again asked by the university to remove it.
I can't help but think it is somewhat hypocritical that students, along with the university, protested his displaying of this flag inside and outside his dorm but apparently have no problems with someone breaking into his room and stealing it. Strange that there are no complaints about someone breaking into a students room...