Earlier this month, Franklin Alderman Bob Scott spoke to Southwestern Community College’s Macon Campus students about the First Amendment and the Freedom of Speech in honor of Constitution Day.
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| Franklin Alderman Bob Scott speaks to students on Constitution Day at Southwestern Community College’s Macon Campus. |
A graduate of SCC and Western Carolina University, Scott has worked over the years as a newspaper reporter and law enforcement officer.
Among his other civic activities and engagements, Scott is a board member of the state’s American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) branch. Though the ACLU is commonly considered one of the nation’s most liberal organizations, Scott defended it as “one of the most conservative because they live by the constitution and the bill of rights and focus on preserving America’s original civil liberties.”
He urged students to be aware of the rights and liberties afforded to them by our Constitution and Bill of Rights because “if we don’t use our rights and fight for them, we lose them.”
In addition to Scott, local representatives from the Board of Elections were on hand to answer questions about voting and were able to assist students, faculty, and staff in the process of registering to vote.
“Mr. Scott’s presentation was enlightening, and it spawned interesting conversation and debate among our students about free speech, freedom of religion and what the Constitution and the founders of our country meant when they established those rights as a cornerstone of our society’s beliefs,” said Dr. Fairley Pollock, who coordinates student services at SCC’s Macon Campus.
Of the dialogue generated by his remarks, Scott said: “We are a nation of many thoughts and that’s what makes us a great county and it’s what we are all about.”
