Sights and Sounds Story

First Amendment Free Food Festival

By Olivia French

           Professor Bobby Hayes stands in the center of the High Point University Wilson School of Commerce ballroom, chewing on his unlit cigar and inspecting the silent students seated at the tables before him.

            Around the room, students from the HPU chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists dressed in all black bark orders at their peers, putting anyone who tries to speak out of turn or use their cameras and cellphones into a caution-taped area marked “Jail” and taping over visible logos on clothing that do not match the “dictator’s” logo.  

            Signs stating, “Eat free or live free! You can’t do both!” cover the room.

            Sound like a weird experiment? Not quite. This was all part of the “First Amendment Free Food Forum,” an event sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists Monday as part of the HPU Communication week.

            In return for a free lunch catered by Jimmy John’s, students had to sign away their First Amendment rights, agreeing that they would not speak freely while they enjoyed their sandwiches.

            “I was scared to breathe,” said Megan Muehlheuser, a sophomore Communication major at HPU. “I didn’t even want to look at Dr. Hayes because I thought he would yell at me.”

            Many students were yelled at by Dr. Hayes, the “dictator” of the event, for things such as using cellphones or whispering to each other.

            Blaring classical music played in the background, as the “dictator’s favorite music” provided a haunting, dramatic soundtrack for the event.

            Some students tried to speak out, but were faced with the prospect of sitting alone in jail in the far corner of the room, temporarily losing their right to eat lunch.

            The event was held to show the importance of our First Amendment rights, which many people around the world do not have.

            The First Amendment states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

            “I was surprised at how the lunch made me realize how much I take for granted,” said Muehlheuser, who would like to be a professional journalist after she graduates from HPU. “It showed me how glad I am to live in the USA, especially as an aspiring journalist.”

            HPU senior Sierra Ewert worked the event as a member of SPJ.

            “Being a member of SPJ was probably a lot easier that actually attending the festival,” said Ewert. “It was hard to keep a straight face with Dr. Hayes yelling at everyone, but it’s definitely a good lesson to be grateful for the small things we have in this country that others don’t have.”

            The Free Food Festival was a feature at the inaugural Communication Week in 2013, and will be a feature in future Communication Weeks as well, as an annual reminder of the beauty of the First Amendment.