Today with our political debates and the election season at our doorstep, I thought it important to reflect on our First Amendment right of speech.  In 1919 the Supreme Court of the United States ruled against Charles Schenck.  Schenck had argued that his freedom of speech had been denied.  He was, like many Americans of the time, against the U.S. entering World War I and opposed the draft.  The Supreme Court ruled against his freedom of speech to protest the draft, noting it posed a “clear and present danger” to the nation and was akin to falsely yelling fire in a crowded cinema.  Chief Justice Holmes delivered the majority opinion emphasizing this ruling came at a time of war and was necessary to a nation combating an enemy.  Twenty-two years later the United States on December 8, 1941 formally declared war for the last time to date.  Now, in today’s post 9-11 world, unpopular speech remains potentially at threat not only from the government but also from fellow citizens.  Speakers at college campuses including Berkeley, Yale, Fordham, and Michigan among others, are heckled off the stage or uninvited because they are said to make the students “feel unsafe;” students have been targeted for wearing political apparel; signs have appeared demanding “No Free Speech for Fascists.”  Schenck’s freedoms were limited to make America feel safe at a time of war; now Americans, sometimes by use of force, are curtailing opinions they don’t agree with.  We are left wondering who are the “fascists” and who exactly does have the right of freedom of speech?  At the Academy, we too face this increasingly prevalent belief that Freedom of Speech entitles you to express yourself in any manner and/or forum is acceptable.  Students believe this because they see it in the news, on television, and in social media.  I guarantee you when Voltaire said, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” the person was not aggressively in his face yelling.  What our students need to learn is not just the five freedoms embodied in the First Amendment but also decorum, dignity, respect, honor, and civility.  Couple our rights with respect and then we can proceed with dialogue and discussion without doing so we can only see the growth in our society of intolerance and that is not an option.  — Christine C. McDonald, Dean of Academics