According to firstamendmentcenter.org, freedom of expression is the “ability of an individual or group of individuals to express their beliefs, thoughts, ideas and emotions about different issues free from government censorship” and the First Amendment “protects the rights of individuals to freedom of religion, speech, press, petition and assembly”.

The site addresses types of speech that the First Amendment doesn’t protect people from, one is defamation, which can be addressed as a crime.

If the student population at EWU desires a prevalent acknowledgement of diversity, they need to make it known.

EWU’s students should desire a request to change required general course credits. For greater effects on equality, there needs to be 15 mandatory credits that touch on culture, ethnicity, religion and women studies; critical thinking should be on this list for obvious reasons.

The college website states that a diverse campus helps the learning environment of the student population. EWU recognizes that the student population of the 2013-2014 school year was 27 percent diverse. There should be and needs a detailed breakdown of the students because an enriched student population needs to know the ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds that support the college.

A school that promotes diversity and has a diverse population, but doesn’t take steps to propagate an outlook of considerate and thoughtful good will toward diversity isn’t doing enough.

EWU does host Diversity Week on campus to encourage understanding, which is fabulous, except the message isn’t getting through. In the wake of Tanner Streicher’s article about riot damage in Ferguson there have been two different responses from students. One has been an outrage that a racially charged opinion was published. The other has been covert in places like Yik Yak, where the response has been spiteful toward the black community.

The eastern side of Washington isn’t known for being friendly toward minorities but that shouldn’t be the case at a state university.

The Black Student Union is holding an Educational Forum on Nov. 14 in the PUB MPR at 11 a.m.