Watch the Dean of Berkeley Law Explain Free Speech in 101 Seconds

Despite its hallowed status, free speech isn’t something that everyone understands — and it hasn’t always been guaranteed.

Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of UC Berkeley’s School of Law, has spent the last 45 years teaching one of the most sacred of Constitutional laws: freedom of speech. 

It’s something most Americans take for granted, but despite its hallowed status, free speech isn’t something that everyone understands — and it hasn’t always been guaranteed. Chemerinsky explains the basics of this law, in American society and particularly on college campuses, in this episode of UC Berkeley’s 101 in 101 video series, which challenges scholars to explain the basics of their field in only 101 seconds.

“Ultimately, it’s that people have the right to express any idea or view. That we don’t want the government, we don’t want campus administrators, we don’t want anyone telling us that there’s ideas and views we can’t express,” says Chemerinsky.

Chemerinsky’s own path to First Amendment law was forged by his experiences watching the Civil Rights Movement as a child, and later participating in campus protests against the Vietnam war. 

Today, Chemerinsky is a sought-after scholar on matters of free speech who has written numerous books on the subject, including the ever-shifting landscape of digital and social media. He also continues to teach a course on the First Amendment at the Law School and discussed the current climate of campus free speech on a recent podcast.

Americans today enjoy some of the most robust free speech protections on the planet, but this hasn’t always been the case, even on college campuses. In the early ‘60s, college administrators routinely denied students the right to protest or speak out on political issues on campuses. Thanks to the efforts of protestors during the Free Speech Movement six decades ago, students now have the right to speak their minds and engage in political and religious conversation on campuses across the country. 

“Now we accept that it is the very nature of education that there has to be free speech,” says Chemerinsky. “Given Berkeley’s role in the Free Speech Movement, given its commitment to freedom of speech, this is the perfect place to come and study.”

Watch more 101 in 101 videos featuring UC Berkeley faculty and experts here.