Chico State brought the controversial nature of free speech to the forefront of campus by inviting U.C. Berkeley’s Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky to speak for Constitution day on Thursday.

Chemerinsky came to campus to speak about the status of free speech and the First Amendment. According to Chemerinsky, the First Amendment does not protect certain forms of speech such as speech that incites violence, harassment or speech that poses true threats of harm. Hate speech was notably left out of the three unprotected forms of speech.

Chemerinsky emphasized that no matter how hateful and putrid some speech is, as long as hate speech does not cross the line of incitement, harassment or becomes truly threatening, then it should always be protected by the First Amendment.

After the speech, Chemerinsky agreed to an interview in a Laxson Auditorium changing room. In the interview, he fleshed out more of his arguments and he spoke about other topics revolving around free speech. Topics such as money, social media and the Trump Administration’s role in free speech were all discussed.

The video was filmed by Caitlyn Young and edited by Christian Solis.

Christian Solis can be reached at [email protected] or @c_alexander20 on Twitter.