Campus civil rights advocates and members of the ISU community have expressed their support for ISU President Gregory Geoffroy’s proposal to expand the free speech zone across campus.

Currently, free speech on campus is restricted to the area just west of the Hub and the area south of the Campanile. The proposal would extend the current free speech zones to include all of campus.

Geoffroy, who invited comments on his proposed plan in October, said he has received many suggestions from students and faculty on possible applications of the new free speech zone.

“People have given us a lot of good feedback.” he said. “I think this gives students and the broader community more options to exercise free expression.”

Herman Quirmbach, adviser for the ISU chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said he feels the proposal is an important step in making all of Iowa State a free speech zone.

“I think the proposal is a very welcomed step forward,” said Quirmbach, associate professor of economics. “I’m very pleased the president took the initiative to open this issue up for discussion.”

Tom Emmerson, professor of journalism and mass communication, said the whole campus should be open to free speech.

“I think the whole country is a free speech zone” he said. “Therefore, the whole campus should be a free speech zone.”

Emmerson said he doesn’t anticipate any problems arising if the proposal is adopted.

“In all my years here, I rarely have seen any out-of-hand behavior,” he said.

Cara Harris, president of the ISU ACLU, said extending free speech zones will give members of the ISU community complete freedom to express their opinions.

“I think the proposal will give people the opportunity to have the freedom to walk out the door and say anything they want, anywhere,” said Harris, sophomore in liberal arts and sciences.

Quirmbach said the proposal will include several restrictions.

Included in the proposal are three levels of speech allowed on campus. These include cases in which permission is needed to gather, cases in which a group must give notice of its event but permission is not needed and cases in which there is no notice or permission needed for the event, Quirmbach said.

The university’s official functions would take precedence in the event of a scheduling conflict, he said. Also, speech events should not disrupt university functions, including classes, Quirmbach said.

No amplification would be allowed for any free-speech events anywhere on campus without permission.

“Those overall restrictions establish a balance for reasonable use,” he said.

However, Quirmbach said he thinks limited use of microphones and other amplification would be a good addition to the proposal.

The ISU ACLU feels students shouldn’t have to justify their desire to exercise free speech on campus.

“Our basic belief is that the burden of proof should lie on the university for justifying the restriction of speech,” he said.