I believe in the First Amendment. I do not like cutting people off and blocking them from saying what they think because it does not fit what others think should be discussed. I don't like it when it happens on American universities as happened in this case and I don't like it when books are taken out of a public library so that people can't read them. I believe free speech is critical to the American democracy. I took my camera to UC Berkeley after I read that some students connected to an organization called BridgeUSA who believe in crossing partisan divides by allowing all points of view to speak on the campus, were blocked from speaking their minds, in some cases physically blocked where violence was either threatened or where the scene became violent. This speaker is a member of BridgeUSA, an organization that believes that good governance starts with constructive political discussion. They work with America’s future leaders on college campuses to foster spaces wherein a diverse range of ideas can engage one another through the practice of responsible discourse. BridgeUSA is a youth-led nonprofit organization that creates spaces on high school and college campuses for open discussion between students about political issues. Political division is one of the biggest challenges in the United States. Many of today's youth they say are being taught that a form of tribalism is better than unity and that having conversations across our differences has become impossible. They were founded in 2016 at the universities of Notre Dame, CU-Boulder, and UC Berkeley in response to growing polarization on campus. Their work emphasizes the importance of empathy and understanding, ideological diversity and solution-oriented politics. By engaging America’s youth in constructive discussions, they feel that they are equipping the next generation of leaders with the skills necessary for navigating conflict, finding solutions across differences and building bridges in their communities. They are currently located on over 50 college campuses and 24 high school campuses in the U.S. www.bridgeusa.org #freespeech #partisandivide #bridgeusa #campusfreespeech