From left to right: Lisa Boragine, Aspen Langley, Raven Berry. (Dahlia Viprino)
By Aspen Langley
Could you name all five freedoms protected by the First Amendment?
Americans are guaranteed freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly and petition. Although these rights are taught in schools, some people cannot name all five on the spot. In 2020, Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett made headlines when she could not name all five freedoms during her confirmation hearing. With a growing police and government presence in Massachusetts, these rights affect daily life. But do people know what they are?
At Cape Cod Community College, students and faculty offered mixed responses when asked to name the five freedoms.
Raven Berry, a student, could name two. She said it is important to know your rights because “we won’t be able to use them if we don’t know them.”
Tim Gerolami, director of the library and academic support center, initially said, “I certainly can’t list them,” but after pausing, he named all five. It took “some deeper digging in my brain,” he said. Gerolami added that “it’s definitely important to know [your rights] and … respect them,” especially because “if you’re interpreting constitutional law you should probably know the amendments.”
Lisa Boragine, a communications faculty member, said she was surprised that some people forgot freedom of the press. Her “concern is that the issues are not being reported and widely distributed.” She said it is important for events to be reported fairly, “whether or not you agree with [a] political side of [congress].” Boragine also said today’s media “is all [under] corporate control,” and that third-party press outlets do not “have as much money and influence” so it is important to use our rights and report on what we see.
Dahlia Viprino. (Aspen Langley)
Dahlia Viprino, a student, emphasized the need for diverse voices. “Even a nonprofessional source of news has a say,” she said. “Especially when everything’s controlled by this one group of people, we need more diversity.”
As protests increase across the country, understanding the freedoms protected by the First Amendment may be more important than ever.
