The First Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees a freedom from prosecution of law for religious belief, speech, press publication, peaceful assembly, or petitioning of the government. The scope and application of the First Amendment has been a source of some controversy as of late, particularly at institutions of higher education. For this reason, the Federalist Society invited Ari Cohn, the Director of the Individual Rights Defense Program at the Foundation for Independent Rights in Education (FIRE), to come and speak about free speech in educational and academic settings. Mr. Cohn began his talk by laying a background of speech codes and efforts to both support and suppress free speech on university campuses nationwide. He highlighted cases regarding the prevention of the creation of a Palestinian organization at Fordham University and Democrats group at Central Connecticut State, noting that in each case the university was taking it upon itself to prevent certain voices and ideals from having a platform on campus. Mr. Cohn also addressed “Free Speech Zones” such as those at Citrus College …