Big day for free speech issues on college campuses, Bros! Nothing gets the viscous juices in my veins flowing more as a fringe journalism/media geek. Today at the University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe stepped down after months of protests from students over his handling of racially-charged incidents on campus. The protests were widely covered over the past weekend — a student group called Concerned Student 1950 (the year Missouri first integrated) set up a “camp” in the middle of campus. The Mizzou football team refused to play. A graduate student, Jonathan Butler, went on a hunger strike, resolving to not eat until Wolfe retire.
Today Wolfe stepped down. Yay! Mission accomplished! Except things immediately got pretty weird when the national press descended on Columbia, Missouri to cover the protests. Tim Tai, a student reporter who was a stringer on the ground for ESPN’s coverage, got involved in a heated exchange while trying to take some pictures in a public space, even though the protestors set up a sign saying “no media safe space.” Ummm…. that doesn’t annul the First Amendment, guys!
Reminder: There is no such thing as a no media safe space on public property. Even if you make a sign. pic.twitter.com/lrAUik9ix9
— Ari Alexander (@AriA1exander) November 9, 2015
“”Video of Tai’s confrontation with the Concerned Student 1950 protestors quickly went viral. He was just doing his job after all (to report the story) and they were very clearly blocking him. No chill, guys!
Take particular note at the end, when a professor steps in and asks for “muscle” to get rid of this reporter doing his job. That’s Melissa Click, a communications professor at the University. According to her bio, her “current research projects involve 50 Shades of Grey readers, the impact of social media in fans’ relationship with Lady Gaga, masculinity and male fans, messages about class and food in reality television programming, and messages about work in children’s television programs.”
Just two days ago on Facebook she asked about how to get Mizzou protest story more national exposure:
Hey folks, students fighting racism on the MU campus want to get their message into the national media. Who among my…
Posted by Melissa Click on Saturday, November 7, 2015
Wait. What? Now she wants to control the messaging of the story? That’s a bit of a backtrack from triumphing America’s protected free speech values that allow the group to peacefully gather there.
Wow. Didn’t mean to become part of the story. Just trying to do my job. Thanks everyone for the support.
— Tim Tai (@nonorganical) November 10, 2015
The student group elaborated on why there was so much press hostility on public property:
We ask for no media in the parameters so the place where people live, fellowship, & sleep can be protected from twisted insincere narratives
— ConcernedStudent1950 (@CS_1950) November 10, 2015
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White, black, and all other ethnicities have been able to converse and build from fellowshipping at the camp site. That isn't for your story
— ConcernedStudent1950 (@CS_1950) November 10, 2015
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We're here for community
— ConcernedStudent1950 (@CS_1950) November 10, 2015
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Marginalized populations are not obligated to educate and converse about our experiences, but we did to make this campus more aware.
— ConcernedStudent1950 (@CS_1950) November 10, 2015
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Sorry, guys — That not really how free speech and a free press works! That’s public relations a.k.a. controlled messaging, not factual truth. Plus your protest is in public, so you should have no expectation of privacy. In fact, by definition, it’s LITERALLY the exact opposite place for such privacy.
Meanwhile, Tim is being really chill about the whole thing:
Just want to reiterate that while I think we need to talk about the 1st Am issues from today, the larger story is not about that.
— Tim Tai (@nonorganical) November 10, 2015
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Respect. Way to keep that chill, Tim. All the chill points to you, Bro.