Campus Reform: Clayton State University

NOTE: This is an op-ed written by Eric Philllips a student activist at Auburn University.  It was originally published on oanow.com.

Did you know the Auburn administration limits demonstrations, speeches and debates to a 20-foot-wide free speech zone on our 1,843 acre campus? Did you know it is a violation of campus rules to display posters in your dorm room windows?

I began to explore these alarming facts late last year when I was ordered to remove a Ron Paul sign from my window because it violated a safety rule. I was told if I left the banner, I risked expulsion from housing and losing my "good standing."

This is selective censorship from bureaucrats hostile to my views. Other banners, stickers and flags, are routinely tolerated in windows and on the side of campus buildings.

Students at Clemson University recently hosted the Leadership Institute's Campus Publications Workshop.

The workshop teaches students useful skills, such as how to recruit and retain a staff, fundraise for their publication, and conduct successful news interviews.

Throughout the workshop, several ideas for stories were discussed. Ideas ranged from analyzing the syllabi for various courses to potentially discover bias, to investigating what programs and events student fees fund.

North Georgia College and State University is losing years of tradition as a military college. It is quickly becoming part of the post-modern, soft, casual environment of the modern day university.

The college opened its doors in 1873 with a mission of being a military centered, values based college, that honored above all else tradition, honor, and service. For years they held true to the tradition, which included only allowing females to live on campus while not participating in their state of the art Reserved Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program.

When I came to North Georgia College and State University I was immediately impressed by the tradition and honor the college represented. 

On the eve of election season, Auburn University has taken a cowardly stance against free speech on campus.

In a stunning display of either ignorance or arrogance (or both), the Student Government Association (SGA) and Administration of Emory University has decided to implement a free-speech zone on campus, in order to promote "free artistic and social expression".

Shorter University, a Christian university historically associated with the Georgia Baptist Convention, is now requiring employees to sign a statement affirming that they "reject as acceptable all sexual activity not in agreement with the Bible, including, but not limited to, premarital sex, adultery, and homosexuality." 

In 2006, Kennesaw State University instituted a smoking policy than regulated smoking areas on campus; on the 240 acre campus, there are 12 designated smoking areas to serve the needs of over 23,000 students and approximately 2000 staff members. Due to supposed difficulties containing the smokers of campus to these areas, the Student Government Association and the University Administration have decided to buy larger signs, designating where students and staff may and may not smoke.