It is not yet summer, but students walking the Union Plaza on Tuesday, April 30, were met with the unusual opportunity to write on a giant beach ball.
There was no common theme or ideology behind what students chose to inscribe. Some wrote their names. Some wrote words of affirmation. Others expressed political positions.
The intention behind the demonstration, freshman history major Jackson Behuniak said, was to give students a chance to exercise their right to free speech.
“They can write things that we don’t agree with, and that’s their opinion. That’s their free speech. They have every right to do that,” Behuniak said.
Alongside Behuniak, sophomore finance major Musa Thomas facilitated the activity representing UM’s chapter of Turning Point USA. TPUSA is a national organization that advocates for conservative politics at educational institutions. While the national organization has faced controversy, the student-led university chapters are geared toward education and discussion, according to their constitution and bylaws.
“We’re trying to get the word out that we’re an organization on campus for those who believe in American values created in our Constitution, like free speech,” Thomas said.
Early in the afternoon, the ball accumulated dozens of inscriptions from students and university community members who passed by the Union Plaza.
Behuniak emphasized the importance of freedom of speech.
“We (U.S. residents) have the ability to criticize our government,” Behuniak said. “Some countries don’t. If you criticize Russia’s government, you could get put in prison for that. That’s why this is important.”
The Russian Constitution protects both free speech and freedom of the press. However, Russian authorities are notorious for their suppression of anti-war speech through criminalization of things like “false information.”
Thomas pointed to the ways in which free speech and conversation are connected.
“In order to find truth and action you have to have dialogue,” Thomas said. “That requires freedom of speech — it requires people to say what they actually believe without the consequences of government suppression.”
Though who/what has free speech and the circumstances to which it extends are debated, freedom of speech is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In recent years, many have pointed to an increase in threats against free speech in the U.S.
“Things have been censored, for sure, and that’s a problem,” Behuniak said. “I believe that people have the right to express their opinions as long as it doesn’t cause harm to anybody — like as long as you’re not threatening somebody, you should have the right to say whatever you think is necessary to be said.”
Thomas agreed with this sentiment.
“There’s a growing amount of censorship not only in the media world but in places like this, where people are not comfortable saying what they actually believe. We need to combat that by doing stuff like this — advocating for the Constitution. Advocating for freedom of speech,” Thomas said.
At a time when protests are ripping across college campuses in the United States concerning the Israel-Hamas war, freedom of speech is a contentious topic. The beach ball reflected a myriad of things on students’ minds as global turmoil persits and finals week looms.
“I miss One Direction,” “Bush did 9/11,” “Good luck on finals,” “Free Palestine,” “Free the hostages,” “I love being gay,” “Jesus loves you,” and “Michael B. Jordan is the hottest man alive” are just a few of the many messages students left on the ball.
“They get to experience something that’s fun and that they don’t really get to do on a normal basis,” Thomas said. “It also allows them to think about the First Amendment and our Constitution.”
Luke Keener, a senior business marketing student, left a note.
“It felt pretty cool — just taking a Sharpie and writing on a beach ball,” Keener said.
