First Amendment Day speaker spreads knowledge

The First Amendment is an important contract between the people and government — but the people are not upholding their side by staying informed.

As part of First Amendment Day, Ken Paulson, president of the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University, spoke to a crowd at Carroll Hall on Tuesday about how most Americans are not informed about their rights.

Paulson structured the lecture to be an interactive quiz about the First Amendment and America’s history.

Senior journalism major Dustin Mcmanus said that the lecture was not what he was expecting.

“He was actually funny and it wasn’t a boring, stuffy speech,” he said.

Paulson had members of the audience pair up and work as teams to compete against each other for a grand prize: two Amazon Kindles.

Paulson emphasized the relationship journalists have with the First Amendment, saying they typically have an antagonistic relationship with the government.

“You invent something new — government takes a long, hard look and says, ‘Can we control that?’” Paulson said.

He said the education system and government fall short in educating people about the U.S. Constitution.

He added that less than four percent of Americans can name all the rights in the First Amendment.

Paulson displayed a government flashcard used to educate immigrants applying for citizenship.

The flashcard listed the rights of the First Amendment, omitting freedom of the press.

Paulson also showed examples of textbooks making similar omissions.

“I’ve got 40 years of textbooks failing to teach the First Amendment, surely I can count on the government.”

Many of the attendees, largely journalism majors, were tripped up by the questions.

Junior Katy Miller said she would not have guessed the answers to many of the questions.

But Paulson said this audience was one of the smartest he had ever seen.

Senior Javier Villarreal said that he thought these issues were important to address.

“Many people do not acknowledge the importance of the First Amendment — that’s a shame,” Villarreal said.

Cathy Packer, a professor at the School of Journalism and the head organizer of the event, said she was delighted with the speech.

“My favorite part was the reaction of the students ­­­— they were excited, delighted.” Packer said.

Paulson encouraged students to be more appreciative of the freedoms given to them.

“It is the heart of who we are as a people and the core of what we are as a nation.”

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