Argument Analysis Essay

After reading the three possible topics for our argument analysis essay, I have decided on writing about the "Free Speech Off Campus Must Be Protected" by Frank D. LoMonte. In this article, LoMonte talks about a student at the University of Minnesota, Amanda Tatro, who was taken to court over something she posted on her Facebook page. Tatro posted on her Facebook wall about how her and her friends gave their cadaver a nickname, and about stabbing someone with a dissecting knife. Although people are free to say whatever they want on the Internet, the university argues that that Amanda Tatro's speech was unprotected in the first amendment. Also, the university received several complaints from supporters of the mortuary-sciences program who had donated their family’s bodies for use of dissection and were offended by what Tatro had said.

            I chose this topic because I come from the generation of multimedia craze. As soon as all ages were open to create a Facebook account, I did so. In my paper, I am going to argue that Amanda Tatro should not be punished for something one posts on Facebook because of the right to free speech. The court has no proof that she intended to harm anyone by her comment; she just made a poor decision to display it on her Facebook page. As I grow older, I have bittersweet feelings about the decisions individuals make to post on their Facebook’s. People should watch what they post online, but unless they are intentionally harming another individual or cyber bullying another individual, no legal action should take place.