Freshman Christian Geoghegan looks at how GW’s policies can limit freedom of speech on campus, and calls for a change in those policies.

Next week, the Westboro Baptist Church will bring its hateful idea that God’s eternal benevolence ends with gay individuals, the military, Jews and Obama to GW. Its arrival will not only bring WBC’s trademark derogatory posters, but also the importance of the first amendment, to the forefront of our consciousness. GW as an institution, unfortunately, does not exercise an ideal respect for the first amendment, and this challenges a day-to-day freedom that we take for granted.

The Hatchet reported earlier this semester that GW received a “yellow light” from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, saying that GW has “at least one ambiguous policy that too easily encourages administrative abuse and arbitrary application.” FIRE points to GW’s policies on flyer postings, free speech zones and overall tolerance as problems.