A fellow N.C. State alum emailed that it wasn’t just UNC students who protested the infamous Speaker Ban Law in the 1960s – a precursor to today’s legislature squelching free speech at our universities.

My blog “Free Speech Under Attack – Again” (link below) was inspired by Hugh Stevens’ story of how the Speaker Ban led him into First Amendment law when he was a UNC student

My Wolfpack buddy said UNC students and the Daily Tar Heel weren’t “the sole resistors”:

“The Young Democrats at N.C. State defied the ban. We invited the heads of the US Communist Party and another leftist group, the head of the John Birch Society, and the Grand Dragon of the NC KKK to speak at State.

“As reported in the N&O at the time, we YDC officers were all recent armed services veterans. When the Vice Chancellor for PR called us to his office and saw our crew cuts and military backgrounds, he was so happy he almost wet his pants. He went to work spreading the news as fast as he could. NC State University stood with us and backed us up all the way.

“Fortunately, all the invitees declined. I guess they thought an ag and tech school wouldn’t be a good place to sell their brands of malarkey.”

He added, “Today, as always, free speech is on shaky ground.”

Previous blog: https://talkingaboutpolitics.com/free-speech-under-attack-again/