Professors need to respect First Amendment rights

Although the Declaration of Independence states that "all men are created equal," apparently the same does not apply to Constitutional amendments, as shown by events just down the road from Storrs. Recently, at Central Connecticut State University, a student was brought into the police station after he gave a class presentation about carrying concealed handguns on campus. What was his transgression? He dared to talk about guns in class, which made his classmates feel "scared and uncomfortable" according to his professor.

John Wahlberg was in Paula Anderson's introductory public speaking class when the students received an assignment to make a presentation about a "relevant issue in the media." Given the fierce debate about whether or not students and professors should be allowed to carry weapons on campus - ignited by the fatal shootings at Virginia Tech - Wahlberg thought that concealed carry was an appropriate topic for class. It is important to note that while Wahlberg is a gun owner and a Second Amendment advocate, he never threatened to harm anyone during his presentation.

After giving the presentation - during which he advocated for students' right to bear arms - Wahlberg went to work, where he was told that he needed to go to the police station. At the station, officers questioned him about how many guns he owned and where he kept them.

This is just absurd. A student expresses his views about the Second Amendment under his First Amendment rights and is sent to the police for questioning because of it? It is also important to note that students did not complain about Wahlberg's presentation; the only person who reported feeling uncomfortable was the professor.

The scariest thing about all of this is that Anderson claims to have acted after receiving guidance and consultation from her department chair and the dean of her department. One would hope that someone in a position of power would see the absurdity of Anderson's reaction, but clearly that was not the case at CCSU.

Colleges are supposed to be refuges of learning and a place where controversial ideas can be aired. There is no justification for a professor to call the police on a student who gives a presentation that she doesn't agree with. That's not freedom of speech; that's the freedom to freely speak about subjects approved by the authorities. That's the sort of "freedom" that citizens of the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, and Saddam's Iraq had. On a college campus - especially here in liberal New England - students should be allowed to express their opinions without fear of reprisals from their professors and the police.