The Rise and Fall of the North Carolina Speaker Ban Law Gladys Hall Coates University History Lecture
Thursday, April 11, 2013 Wilson Special Collections Library
5 p.m. Exhibition Viewing | North Carolina Collection Gallery
5:30 p.m. Program | Pleasants Family Assembly Room
Free and open to the public
Information: Liza Terll, Friends of the Library, (919) 548-1203
Student opposition to North Carolina’s 1963 Speaker Ban Law will be
the subject of the annual Gladys Hall Coates University History Lecture
Thursday, April 11, at the Wilson Special Collections Library.
In a 5-2 vote, the Chapel Hill Town Council tonight reaffirmed Chapel Hill Transit (CHT)’s bus advertising policy with minor adjustments. The policy, which was technically a draft that had been erroneously enforced by staff, makes town buses a “limited public form,” and prohibits advertising that is “disparaging, disreputable or disrespectful.” The main debate of the evening centered around subjective terms like “disparaging” and “disrespectful” would be interpreted by staff. Council Members Eastrom and Czajkowski were the two dissenting votes. Council Member Pease was absent.
The Council also approved resolutions limiting the number of ads with the same message from the same source that can appear on a single bus and allowing staff to place disclaimers with bus ads stating that they do not represent the views of the town government.
The Transit Partners, made up of representatives from the Carrboro Board of Alderfolks, UNC, and the Chapel Hill Town Council, met this morning to talk about options for allowing ads on the Chapel Hill Transit buses. After some discussion about the 5 options in front of them (from not allowing any ads to declaring the bus advertising space a public forum, greatly limiting acceptable ad restrictions), all members agreed, though a vote was not taken, to put forth Option 5, which would allow political and religious ads on Chapel Hill Transit buses with the, somewhat worrisome, caveat that the ads cannot be "offensive".
The Chapel Hill Town Council will discuss this recommendation when they again take up the bus ads issue on December 3.
In a fairly crowded business meeting tonight, the Chapel Hill Town Council member heard from more than 30 members of the public on Chapel Hill Transit's current bus advertising policy. Contraversy around the ad was sparked by the placement of an ad by the Church of the Reconciliation urging the end of U.S. military aid to Israel. Speakers included several members of the Church of the Reconciliation, the director of the N.C. ACLU and local Jewish leaders among others.
The central question on the issue was whether the transit system consitituted a "public forum." This is important because under Supreme Court precedent regulations on speech in public forums are subject to greater scrutiny than regulations on speech in non-public forums.
About a year ago, the Town of Chapel Hill amended its bus advertisement policy to spell out rules for ads with political messages. In August, the Church of Reconciliation in Chapel Hill placed an ad that shows a Jewish and a Palestinian grandfather each with a grandchild and reads “Join with us. Build peace with justice and equality. End U.S. military aid to Israel.” The ad stirred up a controversy and led to a petition from citizens to change the bus ad policy to disallow such ads. The current policy is available online at http://www.townofchapelhill.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=15328.
On Friday, the ACLU of North Carolina sent a letter to the Chapel Hill town manager and elected officials outlining why changing the bus ad policy would violate the free speech clause of the First Amendment. Below is the ACLU-NC press release. The full letter is available here.
I'm surprised no one has yet posted comments about the following article by Mark Schultz that appeared in Chapel Hill News. Chapel Hill Town Council has taken many principled positions on contentious national issues such as gay rights or gun control, to name two. Why not Palestine? Where does this community stand on the issue of free speech? Why is it OK to take positions on some issues, but not others? In this case the town itself is not actually taking a position, but allowing a local church to pay for ads that say the following: “Join with us. Build peace with justice and equality. End U.S. military aid to Israel.” It's a simple message quite in keeping with many of the values Chapel Hillians hold dear. Should the town censor this particular kind of speech on town buses?
Town leaders will discuss their policy for bus advertising after an ad calling for an end of U.S. military aid to Israel drew complaints.
On November 15th, around four p.m., local Earth First! activists gathered outside of the Royal Bank of Canada in Carrboro to protest the bank's investment in the world's most destructive project, the Canadian Tar Sands. We were holding signs, banners, and doing some chanting. The police arrived and told us that we could not stand anywhere on the sidewalk at all.
I am interested in what OP folks think about the disruption Tuesday evening at the University of the planned talk by Tom Tancredo, preventing him from speaking. I hope we don't see this as a campus issue isolated from the rest of local progressive politics, because it raises fundamental questions about freedom of speech and liberalism.
To me this seems very simple. Tancredo's views on immigration may be loathsome, but he had a right to speak. I am repeatedly appalled, I have to add, at the lack of appreciation of this basic point among some of my fellow progressives and liberals. Free speech applies even to people who are wrong.
The Peoples Channel, Chapel Hill & Orange County's Community Media Center & Public Access TV Station, is opening the airwaves to
members of the community to come in the studio to watch the Presidential
debates. We will be going LIVE Friday Sept. 26th at 8:30pm with the first debate between Sen. John McCain & Sen. Barack
Obama on the big screen. The community is welcome to come in to share their
thoughts before, during, & after the debates. Live coverage will go on
until 11pm with rebroadcasts the following day. Don’t let the
corporate pundits have the last word, come in & tell the community what you
think while you watch.
What: TPC Watch & Share of the
Presidential/Vice Presidential Debates LIVE
When: Friday Sept 26th.
Doors open at 8pm, we will broadcast LIVE at 8:30 until 11pm.
Where: TPC Studios 300AC S Elliott RdChapel Hill
Please call 919.960.0088 or email tpc@thepeopleschannel.org if you
have any questions.
