Students filled the seventh floor of the library to hear Ken Paulson shatter what they thought they knew about the First Amendment.

Paulson asked the crowd to name the five freedoms listed in the First Amendment. The crowd fumbled with the question with only a few people correctly naming all five.

“Only one in 25 can say what the First Amendment says,” Paulson said. “We all know the pledge of allegiance, but nobody knows the five freedoms of the First Amendment.”

Bryson Belaire knew a lot of the answers to Paulson’s questions, but he still said there’s room for improvement.

“I didn’t realize how little I knew about our rights and the constitution,” said Belaire.

Even though he said he had a great history teacher in high school, the freshman pre-pharmacy major struggled with some of the questions.

Paulson has a history in journalism, since he served as the editor of USA Today and other papers. He is also an attorney and president of the First Amendment Center.

Paulson showed examples of textbooks and government websites, which neglected certain freedoms of the First Amendment, including freedom of the press.

The Department of Homeland Security originally left out freedom of press on their website.  After Paulson ran a story on that in USA Today, DHS changed the site the next day.

Paulson touched on the film that sparked the Middle East protests.

“If you say something stupid, others are allowed to criticize you,” Paulson said. “Some clown made a goofy video in California. Let’s make fun of him. That’s the American way.”

The Department of Communication hosted the program along with an essay contest for local high school students.

Assistant Professor of Communication Peggy Bowers helped to coordinate the event and the contest.

“I wanted to challenge young people and give them the opportunity to hear Mr. Paulson,” Bowers said. “And I wanted to let students in this area see that ULM has a lot going for it.”

The contest was open to students in Ouachita and Lincoln Parishes and was judged on creativity, persuasiveness and the student’s grasp of the constitution.