UNC Celebrates Freedom of Expression with Fifteenth-Annual First Amendment Day

September 25, 2024

The University of North Carolina is set to host its fifteenth annual First Amendment Day on Wednesday, September 25. This campus-wide, daylong series of events is designed to celebrate the First Amendment and explore its crucial role in the lives of Carolina students.

Schedule of Events

  • 8:00 AM – Breakfast with Bubba
    • Location: Freedom Forum, Carroll Hall
    • Join UNC Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham for a talk about the evolving landscape of college athletics, ACC expansion and media contracts, the impact of name, image, and likeness (NIL) policies, as well as the role and responsibilities of student-athletes in the campus marketplace of ideas.
  • 12:00 PM – Book Bans and the Marketplace of Ideas
    • Location: Room 5048, UNC School of Law
    • This panel, co-sponsored by the UNC Media Law Society and OutLaw, will address the history and current state of book bans in the United States.
    • Panelists:
      • Dan Novack, Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Penguin Random House
      • Elliott Kuecker, Teaching Assistant Professor, UNC School of Information and Library Science
      • Adrienne Kirschner, Chief Engagement Officer, Red, Wine, and Blue
    • Moderator: Mary-Rose Papandrea, Samuel Ashe Distinguished professor of Constitutional Law, UNC School of Law
    • Lunch will be provided.
  • 1:00 PM – AI & 1A: How the Press is Harnessing New Technology
    • Location: Zoom
    • This panel will discuss examples of AI-driven reporting, editing, and content distribution, as well as the challenges of bias, accountability, and transparency in AI-generated journalism
    • Panelists:
      • Marisa Porto, Knight Chair of Local News and Sustainability, UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media
      • Benjamin Toff, Associate Professor and Director of the Minnesota Journalism Center, University of Minnesota Hubbard School of Journalism & Mass Communication
      • Joel Luther, Associate Professor, DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy, Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy
      • Mollie Muchna, Project Manager, Trusting News Project
  • 3:00 PM – Election 2024 Panel
    • Location: Freedom Forum, Carroll Hall
    • This panel explores the complex interplay between media, technology, and democracy in the lead-up to the 2024 U.S. presidential election, examining issues such as disinformation, social media-driven polarization, and attempts to regulate these phenomena while preserving democratic processes.
    • Panelists:
      • Daniel Kreiss, Edgar Thomas Cato Distinguished Professor, UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media and Principal Researcher, Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life (CITAP)
      • Shannon McGregor, Associate Professor, UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media and Principal Investigator, CITAP
      • Meredith Clark, Associate Professor of Race and Political Communication, UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media
  • 5:15 PM – Keynote Event: Clashes on Campus – Student Protest & the First Amendment
    • Location: Freedom Forum, Carroll Hall
    • This keynote explores the critical intersection of student protests, free speech, and the First Amendment on university campuses, examining how institutions navigate complex cultural issues and protect political expression in an increasingly polarized environment.
    • Speaker: Lindsie Rank (JD & MA ’18), Director of Campus Rights Advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
    • Moderator: Evan Ringel (JD & MA ’21, PhD ’24), Assistant Professor of Media Law, Department of Communication, Appalachian State University

Looking Ahead: November Symposium

Mark your calendars for Friday, November 15, when the Center for Media Law and Policy will join forces with the First Amendment Law Review to present a symposium titled “The Quintessential Marketplace of Ideas? Current Free Speech Issues on University Campuses.” This event will feature three panels with distinguished speakers addressing student speech, faculty speech, and institutional speech in the academic setting.

Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with critical discussions about our fundamental freedoms. For more information on First Amendment Day events and the upcoming symposium, visit the Center for Media Law and Policy’s website.