You can’t say that! Can you?

Posted 1:23 p.m. Monday, Aug. 17, 2020

The Free Speech event is set for Tuesday, Oct. 22. Read more →

Free Speech Week panel discussion with Q & A set Oct. 22

What are my rights when it comes to free speech? What can I say? What’s the difference between free speech and hate speech?

An event at UWL will attempt to answer these questions at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 22, in 1400 Centennial Hall. Panelists will discuss all these questions incorporating UWL’s past with pushing boundaries on free speech.

"You can't say that! Can you?" will open with facts and myths about free speech presented by the Nizam Arain, director of Equity and Affirmative Action, and James Szymalak, assistant professor of Political Science and Public Administration. Next, the event will include an interactive panel discussion on free speech moderated by Beth Boser, assistant professor of Communication Studies with panelists Joseph Heim, emeritus professor of Political Science and Public Administration, and James Parker, emeritus professor of History. The event concludes with a question-and-answer session among those attending and the presenters.

The event was planned by the university’s newly formed Joint Committee on Free Speech Promotion, a committee charged by the chancellor to create programming that promotes the value of free speech at UWL. The committee’s goal is to provide the UWL community, as well as La Crosse area residents, a live experience of how to have challenging conversations about contentious issues in a respectful manner.