California college bars student from handing out copies of Constitution

There would seem to be more to this story than meets the eye, and I do not trust Fox News to provide full info.

Waiting for WSWS to chime in?

It's always funny how idiots like Rick cry about Fox News and its "info" but they will swallow hook line and sinker the bullshit that comes out of CNN, MSNBC, and a whole host of other left news organizations.

He's waiting for the Socialist Worker to publish it before accepting it as fact.

To be perfectly honest, I don't think Fox is any more truthful or objective than CNN and others of that nature. They simply distort the news in a different way.

Just going from this one article, it seems the college has a pamphlet policy, probably aimed at preventing too many handouts from littering the campus. Let's face it, most pamphleteers aren't distributing copies of the Constitution, but spam on newsprint. I think the property owner has a legitimate interest in managing this flow of mostly garbage that is quickly tossed on the ground. As long as nobody is denied access to the designated location for handing out materials, and there is a reasonable due process for obtaining access, I don't really see a problem.

This is an example of something reasonable looking foolish when faced by a certain test, yet remains reasonable just the same.

Agreed.

Just if this was written by CNN he would have no problem accepting it. It's only Fox News that makes him go, "I don't trust them" when he should apply that standard to all news organizations because they've all shown themselves to be less then ideal in reporting news.

Er, what? I don't recognise those as "left news organisations", nor do I trust them, heavily-biased as they are by corporate ownership.

In fact, mainstream American news media is mostly awful and I tend to avoid it. But Fox News is in a league of its own for outright lying.

Public property, private property, or some gray area in between? It matters.

I wonder, at what point did higher education become a sham and gross parody of what it started out as. I mean, this is just ironic chickenshit bureaucracy. If the guy had shown up dressed as Hitler, sticking a crucifix up his butt, he'd have gotten the same reaction from the Goons. But when did the concept of going someplace where you are supposed to be exposed to new ideas and alternative views turn into "you can have The Box on October 17 from 3pm to 3:15"?

Time place manner.

Looks like it's part of the public college system so I'd say public property.

If it's strictly public property, then why does the college have any authority to even offer an opinion on this? Is the entire campus legally equivalent to an elementary school playground?

Lawyerforge will have to weigh in on this, but I'm pretty sure there are abundant examples of publicly owned not meaning publicly available to all for any reason. Easiest example is a military base, but I would assume that a public college campus can also exercise some private property type controls on usage.

The school I go to also has certain areas set up for students, visitors, groups, etc. to allow them the rights guaranteed by the freedom of speech. And in order to do so the person/group has to request it and schedule it. The main reason is that some people tend to act like Uncle Albert over certain things. So this allows campus officers to be scheduled and in place in case someone goes nuts, or if the group gets overly zealous. More of a safety issue than anything else.

Eat shit, tinkerbell. You don't know a fucking thing about me or how I act.

Oh really? I guess the has nothing to do with you.

Thomas Paine wrote of "sunshine patriots." He never met Muad the Sometime Patriot. Today he's an American, only because a community college in a state he does not live in has a campus control policy He Does Not Like!!!!

In a day or two he'll be distracted by something else and revert to form.

there are two older gentleman that pass out teeny little bibles every day at my school.

Seems to me a college has a right to set policy governing its own campus.

No need to be silent. Current campus policies are a backlash against things like the Free Speech Movement (which, BTW, was not about handing out pamphlets). If Muad wants to play Abbie Hoffman and lead a protest march on the Modesto Junior College campus, I'd encourage him to do so.

What he's doing here is either suggesting this tiny little incident requires Gubmint Intervention, or just whining on a message board.

No, he's suggesting this demonstrates a massive government conspiracy to eliminate the Constitution, which it isn't. Whether his effort is just an opportunity to moan isn't clear, as he's made no suggestions for a course of action.

But, you know, Obama!

"And then there's Muad."

If you receive tax money, I say you forfeit the right to invoke strict private property rights to "justify" restricting free speech in this matter. This situation should be handled in exactly the same manner as it would be if he were standing at an intersection downtown. Was he disturbing the peace? No. Was he endangering anyone? No. So no excuse to fuck with him in the slightest. Instead, our money is funding these little bureaucratic fiefdoms where mindless adherance to regulatory minutae is enough to cancel out constitutional rights.

So who should force the college to change its on-campus governance - the Yosemite Community College District, the State of California, or the feds?

Ideally, something like this would be defied, then challenged and defeated in court.

What's to challenge in court? Dude hands out his little constitutions. Rent-a-cop comes waddling up to order him to stop, and is invited to go fuck himself with a foreign object. Then, either the student faces some kind of academic disciplinary action, or the rent-a-cop actually tries to take him into custody/calls the real ghostbusters to arrest him. Either way, take that shit to court.

Fair enough. Maybe the local Tea Party can find the kid a lawyer.

Albert, you ready to hand out Constitutions at the base PX? Or can the mili4ary legitimately restrict how we enjoy our rights on a base? What about the Whitehouse? You own it, time for you to demand a night in the Lincoln bedroom.