Spring Break
"Misjudging Our Freedoms"
Nick Hemenway
Issue date: 9/26/07 Section: Opinion
By punching and kicking the officers, he might as well have said "Yo bro, you should taze me real good!"
The police report went on to explain how Meyer became compliant when the cameras went away, then went crazy again when the cameras reappeared later.
In the end, Andrew Meyer got exactly what he wanted - attention.
It is my personal belief that David McSwane had the same desire at the core of his decision to run the infamous editorial last Friday.
Why? Because this is the second time McSwane has been in the national spotlight.
Those of us from Colorado will remember in 2005, a seventeen-year-old high school kid made headlines when he went undercover to see how far Army recruiters would go to enlist a new soldier.
That kid pretended to be a high school dropout and to use marijuana, both which would have prohibited him from enlistment. When the recruiters encouraged and helped him cover up these problems, the kid went straight to the news reporters.
That "kid" is now the Editor in Chief of the Collegian.
The difference now is McSwane very well could lose his prestigious job because of the mess he created.
Even though the Editorial Board and I could probably not agree on what color the sky is, I do not think they are bad people.
The mistake they made was mistaking freedom of speech for immunity.
Our Constitution allows us to legally say anything we want, but as the Editorial Board has learned, there are sometimes far more serious consequences.
Nick Hemenway is a senior mechanical engineering major. His column appears Wednesdays in the Collegian. Letters and feedback can be sent to letters@collegian.com
The police report went on to explain how Meyer became compliant when the cameras went away, then went crazy again when the cameras reappeared later.
In the end, Andrew Meyer got exactly what he wanted - attention.
It is my personal belief that David McSwane had the same desire at the core of his decision to run the infamous editorial last Friday.
Why? Because this is the second time McSwane has been in the national spotlight.
Those of us from Colorado will remember in 2005, a seventeen-year-old high school kid made headlines when he went undercover to see how far Army recruiters would go to enlist a new soldier.
That kid pretended to be a high school dropout and to use marijuana, both which would have prohibited him from enlistment. When the recruiters encouraged and helped him cover up these problems, the kid went straight to the news reporters.
That "kid" is now the Editor in Chief of the Collegian.
The difference now is McSwane very well could lose his prestigious job because of the mess he created.
Even though the Editorial Board and I could probably not agree on what color the sky is, I do not think they are bad people.
The mistake they made was mistaking freedom of speech for immunity.
Our Constitution allows us to legally say anything we want, but as the Editorial Board has learned, there are sometimes far more serious consequences.
Nick Hemenway is a senior mechanical engineering major. His column appears Wednesdays in the Collegian. Letters and feedback can be sent to letters@collegian.com
Viewing Comments 1 - 6 of 9
Steven
posted 9/26/07 @ 2:02 AM MST
You're wrong.
Firstly, your argument concerning the "taser incident" seems to rely pretty heavily on "facts" provided by a police report. In addition, this sentence: "Meyer immediately went crazy and resisted arrest, which is a huge no-no" has three significant problems. (Continued…)
Abel
posted 9/26/07 @ 5:53 AM MST
Contacting your online and print advertisers voicing my objections is proving quite effective. $30k is just the start. Too bad the laid off employees have to learn McSwane's lesson for him. (Continued…)
Erin
posted 9/26/07 @ 3:56 PM MST
I think it is nice to see a conservative look past the political comments and see this for what it was: an exercise in the right to freedom of speech without considering the consequences! There were no legal lines crossed in McSwane's editorial, just public lines of integrity, which have direct consequences. (Continued…)
Please Read the 1st Amendment
posted 9/26/07 @ 7:40 PM MST
The 1st Amendment does not guarantee unlimited free speech. If you read the entire amendment, and how the courts have interpreted it, you will see it in fact guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of the press without interference from the government. (Continued…)
Bob Dylan
posted 9/26/07 @ 7:56 PM MST
Ron Paul is the ONLY antiwar Candidate and the ONLY man with the proven spotless track record that deserves our trust to inherit the 'thrown' after Bush. (Continued…)
John M.
posted 9/27/07 @ 8:45 AM MST
Two great cards just in case of an emergency.
1) The Free Speech card
2) The Race card
What card are in your wallet?
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