In an article written this morning by The Des Moines Register, it talked about the fine line between freedom of speech and where it crosses the line into threatening another citizen. The story takes place at Northern Iowa University where 200 students gathered to talk about diversity. These students claim that they often hear hateful or racist language on campus and claim that it creates an unwelcoming environment on campus.

It is hard to believe, but the Ku Klux Klan is still being mentioned to this day. In the article one African American student says "If a black person sees the KKK we are alarmed; it's a threat". This student is referring to a statue on campus that resembles a man in a KKK outfit. A woman named Samantha Harris who is the director of policy research for the Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights in Education argues against taking this statue down and says "You shut down speech that is making a contribution to the marketplace of ideas".

Obviously these are two very different views of this historic statue and it is making headlines. The ultimate question we need to ask ourselves is, "Is this statue free speech protected by the first amendment, or is it crossing the line into being a threatening environment for students?" This article is a perfect example of knowing and understanding our First Amendment rights and how we can exercise them in our everyday lives.