Free Speech Conference 2019
Date: September 23–26, 2019
- College, San Antonio College, Calendar, Featured, Faculty & Staff, Students, Alumni, Community, Arts & Culture
Free Speech Conference
Free Speech is a widely discussed and debated topic. Its impact is far reaching—from the internet to the classroom and to the White House, this fundamental right has been interpreted in many different ways. The conference will explore several areas of free speech, including the controversy over banned books, the right to protest, and creating a self-published zine.
Funding for the Free Speech Conference has been provided by the Title V Developing Hispanic Institute Grant.
FREE SPEECH CONFERENCE 2019 SCHEDULE
MONDAY, SEPT. 23
CAUTION: Reading Banned Books
10 to 11:50 a.m.
Integrated Reading and Writing Center (INRW) Gonzalez Hall room 122
A presentation on banned books from a Gemini Ink speaker followed by the inaugural opening of a Little Free Library in front of Gonzalez Hall.
Opposing Censorship with Cultural Capital
12:15 to 1:30 p.m.
Moody Learning Center 4th Floor Performance Area
Writer, activist, and media personality Tony Diaz, "El Librotraficante," discusses cultural capital, ethnic studies as Free Speech, and his smuggling of banned books.
The Battle for Free Speech
2 to 3 p.m.
Moody Learning Center 4th Floor Performance Area
Know your rights! SAC Advisor Rigoberto Amaya will discuss the history of free speech and how it’s under attack today.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 24
Make a Zine! Workshop – Morning Session
9:45 to 10:45 a.m.
Loftin 2nd Floor Craft Room
Learn about the process of creating Zines (self-published, mini magazines) and create your own DIY art with Suzy González and Elle Minter, publishers of Yes, Ma’am Zine.
Free Speech Zine Fair
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
SAC Mall Area
Free Speech, Free Zines! Meet local Zinesters, learn about their work and take some zines (self-published, mini magazines) home with you. Inspired to create your own DIY art? Attend one of the two Zine workshops held the same day.
Live T-shirt Printing
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
SAC Mall Area
Get a SAC Free Speech shirt printed live! Red T-shirts will be available while supplies last, or bring your own to get printed on the spot.
The Free Internet and Online Journalism Panel Discussion
10:50 a.m. to 12:05 p.m.
INRW Center Gonzalez Hall room 122
The internet provides a platform for individuals and small groups to express opinions and information that might be ignored by mainstream media. Editors of the online journals Deceleration and the San Antonio Heron discuss Free Speech in independent, grassroots online journalism versus corporate media.
Make a Zine! Workshop – Noon Session
12:15 to 1:15 p.m.
Loftin 2nd Floor Craft Room
Learn about the process of creating Zines (self-published, mini magazines) and create your own DIY art with Suzy González and Elle Minter, publishers of Yes, Ma’am Zine.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 25
Only the Metaphor Can Save Us: Thinking and Speaking Freely in the Age of STEM
9:25 to 10:40 a.m.
Moody Learning Center 4th Floor Performance Area
In the first lecture of the Free Speech in Academia Series, Dr. John V. Waldron demonstrates that the emphasis on STEM curriculum over the humanities and arts has the possibility of limiting free speech in academia.
The Right to Protest: San Antonio’s Free Speech Coalition Panel Discussion
10:50 to 12:05 p.m.
INRW Center Gonzalez Hall room 122
Is there a right way to protest? Is it really free speech if citizens have to get permission or remain in specific spots? The panel, that will include Graciela Sanchez of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, will discuss this topic and the Free Speech Coalition’s successful fight against San Antonio’s Parade Ordinance.
Socratic Parrhesia, Free Speech, and Responsibility
Noon to 1:30 p.m.
Moody Learning Center 4th Floor Performance Area
Dr. Jude Okpala, professor of philosophy at the University of Texas, San Antonio, discusses how free speech is a moral responsibility and should be understood as a means to say the truth. The audience will also participate in a Free Speech activity.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 26
Free Speech and Sublation in the Latinx Classroom
9:25 to 10:40 a.m.
Moody Learning Center 4th Floor Performance Area
In the second lecture of the Free Speech in Academia Series, Dr. Marcus Embry discusses the boundaries on free speech that identity politics and politics of difference create in the classroom.
Diversity, Academia, and Freedom of Speech
10:50 a.m. to 12:50 p.m.
Moody Learning Center 4th Floor Performance Area
In the third and final lecture of the Free Speech in Academia Series, Dr. Rolando Romero discusses two recent court cases involving the University of Illinois and Oberlin College in Ohio. This presentation will look into the Free Speech issues confronted by these cases.
Contact information:
Mr. Marcos Langoni, Student Success Specialist 210-486-0676 or
Dr. Barbara Knotts, Professor/Director of Exitos Grant, Title V Grant, 210-486-0593