The freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment will be spotlighted today (Oct. 25) when the UW-Eau Claire chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) hosts its annual First Amendment Free Food Festival on the campus mall.
The three-hour event, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., is free and open to both the campus and the general communities. Its goal is to encourage participants to focus on their First Amendment rights by offering them a free lunch – as long as they’re willing to sign away their rights to freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly and petition.
Participants will be invited to visit the “Democratic Republic of Freelandia,” a roped-off section of the campus mall between the Davies Center and Schofield Hall. Before entering, they will need to sign a form agreeing to give up their First Amendment rights in exchange for pizza and soda.
Volunteers from sponsoring organizations will interact with the Freelandia visitors to drive home the freedoms they have given up. Students will play a variety of roles, from a dictator whose orders must be obeyed to an enforcement squad and protesters.
Among the orders the dictator can give is one prohibiting conversation, since there is no freedom of speech in “Freelandia.” Or, friends who may want to eat their lunches together may be ordered to separate, because their freedom of assembly has been signed away. And reading a newspaper could bring quick negative consequences because freedom of the press is lacking.
The event should get students and others thinking about the role the press plays in supporting a healthy democracy, said SPJ President Andee Erickson.
“I hope the event will prompt students to think about how expansive their First Amendment rights are and how important it is to defend and utilize them” she said. “When the public knows this, the press can better serve its community.”
Those who disobey the dictator will face the consequences, such as being jailed to undergo “re-education” or being put to work writing things like “our dictator is great.”
Toppers, a co-sponsor of the event, will be providing pizza for everyone who has signed away their First Amendment rights.
In addition to SPJ and Toppers, the event is sponsored by WUEC, The Spectator and the UW-EC Communication and Journalism Department.