Your Voice | A Wall for Freedom

“Without Freedom of Thought, there can be no such thing as Wisdom; and no such thing as public Liberty, without Freedom of Speech.” — Benjamin Franklin

The United Nations recognizes free speech as a universal human right — but not really. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that the “right to freedom of expression” may “be subject to certain restrictions,” and many countries have taken this ball and run with it. The interpretation that one person’s rights end where another’s feelings begin has been codified throughout the world, and restricting critical, offensive or indecent statements (whatever those terms mean) is all too common.

It is with this in mind that Penn For Liberty is celebrating free speech this week –— both the speech itself and the fact that we are in a privileged position in the United States and at Penn where our speech will not be censored. To evince this, we’re placing a Free Speech Wall next to the love statue. Come by with a marker and express yourself without being censored. If someone writes something you disagree with, please respond to them and show them why they’re wrong. We hope that you’ll be respectful of each other. We’ll see how that turns out.

One could claim that erecting this wall will only cause problems. Perhaps it is a risky endeavor. Yet, ultimately, free thought is only dangerous to those who seek to hinder truth. What we want is to give the Penn community the opportunity to express what it feels and thinks, without reservations. Let us see what comes up and face it. Silence does not change anything, and neither do thought and expression which are not liberated.

What do we expect to happen with such a wall? What could possibly be said that would shake Penn to its core? Let’s say that we are waiting for the unexpected. Allowing anyone to say anything is exactly the principle for intellectual independence. We are willing to listen to anything. We shall face that which is not normally expressed, we shall confront it peacefully and we shall affirm our right to agree or disagree with it.

Maybe this wall will not change the world, but it is only if we speak freely that the world will ever change at all. Let this be a wall for a freer world. Let this be a call for Freedom.

College sophomore Tony Cotzias is the founder of Penn for Liberty and College and Wharton sophomore Seth Koren is a co-president of PFL. They can be reached at ancotzias@live.com.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.