“It’s one of those terms that mean many things to many different people. It has been deployed as a political tactic that has allowed people to pursue political goals when the normal channels of political action has been foreclosed to them,” Michael Lipscomb said about the definition of civil disobedience.
The Society of Professional Journalists hosted their first standalone event on campus, which targeted the multifaceted nature of civil disobedience and free speech.
SPJ President Cheyenne Walsh said this event was an opportune moment to educate students on their rights in light of recent community uproar over campus safety and a Ratio Christi speaker who has anti-LGBT+ views.
“A lot of people don’t realize where our free speech zones or what their First Amendment rights… We thought this something that needed to be discussed, and we thought this was the best way to do so,” Walsh said.
The panelists were Michael Lipscomb and Nathaniel Frederick. Lipscomb is the faculty representative of the Winthrop Board of Trustees and a political science professor. Frederick is the director of the African American Studies program and an associate professor of mass communication.
The two panelists cited the civil rights movement of the 1960s as a form of civil disobedience, based on Lipscomb’s initial definition. The federal and state governments were foreclosed to them due to institutional racism and the need to preserve the support of the Democratic Party during that era.
“Another definition would be a form of political action and communication based on disobeying laws that you find contrary to your conscience, recognizing that you will pay the price exacted by those,” Lipscomb said. “It’s an action to communicate to groups of folks what your goals are, to put pressure on folks and to use moral suasion to reach the ends you’re seeking to realize.”
Free speech zones were another topic of discussion. They are legally-protected spaces for free expression without disruption. Byrnes Auditorium is the free speech zone on Winthrop’s campus.
“Typically that expression cannot be restricted based on the content of the speech. It’s based on time, place and manner,” Frederick said. “You can’t just have a protest in the hallways, because that disrupts the normal use of the hallways. People are going to classes or in the middle of a lecture.”
Civil disobedience can take many forms. Not paying your taxes can be a form of disobedience, according to Frederick. But not all forms of civil disobedience are peaceful. Activist groups or protestors may occupy spaces that are not designated as free speech zones, such as libraries, buildings and private properties.
“That’s civil disobedience in a way where you create a free speech zone in a way that’s contrary to the law,” Lipscomb said.
The panelists highlighted the free speech movement of the 1970s where college students stormed administrative buildings, libraries and other areas to protest the Vietnam War, racial injustices and other social issues.
“We’re thinking about the Occupy movement, but they’re harking back to the logic that occurred in 1968 and so forth,” Lipscomb said.
There are repercussions for civil disobedience at colleges and universities. Frederick cited the expulsion of Macari Cellars for protesting the Orangeburg Massacre in 1968. The Orangeburg Massacre was when South Carolina Highway Patrol officers shot protestors on the South Carolina State University campus.
“There is a willingness to pay a price. That’s what gives you a leverage of moral authority. You’re willing to put your privilege, in some of kind of way, on the line because your conscience compels you,” Lipscomb said.
Winthrop students occupied Tillman Hall in fall 2016 in protest of the hall’s name and in response to the Keith Lamont Scott shooting in Charlotte, North Carolina. Ben “Pitchfork” Tillman was an American politician and ardent white supremacist but contributed financially to Winthrop University.
“It certainly allowed students to voice their opinions. Unfortunately, some things couldn’t happen, like the renaming of Tillman, but it certainly raised awareness,” Frederick said.
There is some criticism for the civil rights movement by contemporary social activists, who claim that it “did not get anything done” due to the prevalence of many social justice issues today.
“Sometimes it’s a matter of faith that these things will play out down the road, even though you can’t see the change immediately,” Lipscomb said.
“You have to look at time. It takes time for those changes to happen, to lead to legislation,” Frederick said.
Movements change the way people think about topics, create vocabularies and add content to “the larger political lexicon that shapes the broader social world,” according to Lipscomb.
Change on college campuses depends on how much administration reacts to crises on campus.
“If faculty are guarded or they are not forthright in their responses to incidents and students’ displeasure, that can fuel [students’] discontent,” Frederick said. He also noted that Winthrop does not have much of a history of incidents because the administration is usually responsive and proactive to student concerns.
