Institutionally Managed Freedom

Without freedom of association, free speech can become a hollow right. We can see the ways in which the freedom of association is infringed upon, and the effect this infringement has upon our daily lives and our capacity to pursue our interests. This chapter will focus on two modes of association, all of which blend into the other elements of the first amendment, and how this freedom is eroded. In the first case, we consider the way in which universities have handled their campus, free speech policies. At first glance, the policies look more like regulations against free speech, and they generally maintain a strategy for segregating the student population. For example, many universities require students to have permits in order to interact with the public, and limit the location of free speech events to out-of-the-way locations on campus. This last piece is crucial to understanding the connection between the free speech policies on college campuses and the regulation of human interaction on campus. These policies mirror public policies, the sort that were used to prevent civil rights marches and anti-war protests. In essence, the policies govern speech and free interaction. In the second case, we consider the national requirements for sexual consent standards on university campuses. The federal government requires universities receiving federal funds to establish regulations governing the nature of interpersonal sexual relationships. These rules do not merely forbid non-consensual intercourse, but define what constitutes valid and invalid interpersonal relationships. In each case, what we see is the ways in which institutional power is used to regulate our “free association” in order to protect nexuses of power.