Sometimes as students, young people or members of a University community, we can feel certain basic freedoms don’t apply to us.

But as we so often become encased in our own day-to-day existence, it can be easy to miss the major events and instances of the First Amendment on our very campus.

In the pages of the Daily today, you will find a set of stories that show you how the First Amendment is prevalent on our campus and on campuses like ours across the nation.

Whether it’s a controversial play put on by our theater department, a book on 9/11 conspiracy theories by one of our professors or the way University police and community assistants are monitoring what you’re writing on Facebook, you have the right to be aware.

But with guaranteed rights comes responsibility. You are responsible for knowing your rights and you are responsible for enforcing the freedoms we live by today.

The First Amendment says “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”.

Please take the time today to think about the way the First Amendment impacts your life. I think you will find it inevitably does.

You can find more First Amendment stories here.