Talking Back to the First Amendment:

A Community Forum on Free Speech and Hate Speech

Perspectives on “hate speech” will be presented at a forum on Thursday, February 28 at 7:30 pm at the UIUC Law School Auditorium, 504 E. Pennsylvania Ave. in Champaign.  The public is invited at no charge.  The program is sponsored by the Champaign County and U of I Law School chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Questions to be addressed by the speakers at Thursday’s forum include:

Ø What is “hate speech” and what does the Bill of Rights say about it?

Ø How can we create communities where controversial issues are freely and openly discussed, and “hate speech” is discouraged?

Ø Are First Amendment rights adequately defended in the current political climate?  Is some speech so destructive that it should not be protected by the First Amendment?

The panel of speakers includes:

Ø Colleen Connell, Attorney at Law and Executive Director of American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois

Ø Paul Weichsel, Retired Professor of Mathematics at the University of Illinois and Chair of the Jewish Community Relations Committee

Ø Chime Asonye, Student Trustee at the University of Illinois

Ø Wendy Shelburne, Assistant Professor of Library Administration and Electronic Resources Librarian at the University of Illinois.