The week my campus speech zone got taken over by a guy with a kazoo

Last Monday at my university in Ann Arbor, this dude stood in the free speech area and just played a kazoo for like 45 minutes straight. He wasn't even protesting anything, he just wanted to see how loud he could get before someone stopped him. Security came by, said he was fine because it was technically noise expression, and walked off. Has anyone else dealt with someone using a weird instrument to test the limits of campus speech policies?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_ben24d ago

Think the whole "noise expression" angle is a loophole they haven't closed yet. Did security actually look up the policy or just make a call on the spot because it was easier. Because if a kazoo counts as protected speech, what stops someone from bringing a bullhorn or a air horn next week.

riverhill24d ago

Ugh yeah I read somewhere that security guards basically get a handbook with like a page of vague rules and then just wing it the rest of the time... depends on who's working that day I guess. The bullhorn thing is a good point though, feels like a slippery slope they haven't thought through yet.