Freedom of speech is an invaluable right Americans have. It’s one of the most exercised rights and how far people should go in voicing their views makes it one of the most debated.

Part of the college experience for countless students is voicing their views, especially when those views are unpopular. When students make sure their voices are heard by taking debatable measures, the question with no definitive answer arises.

When do protests go too far?

People crossing the line from peaceful to violent is common. Breaking the law in any case is another limit considered going too far.

When people, whether they’re the protesters or authorities, decide to aggressively approach others is the moment protesting usually stops and confrontation begins. The time when people stop communicating and lose control should be avoided, as nothing positive happens at that point.

Down the causeway at UC Davis, students, police and the administration attracted national attention last month when student protesters were pepper-sprayed while sitting down.

Condemnation of the police came from all over the country over perceived excessive force as video of the spraying went viral.

Going viral as well is another video of police giving multiple warnings to students to leave and eventually getting surrounded by them. Students were attempting to prevent police officers from taking fellow students who had been arrested away.

Were police justified in using the methods they did? What one person calls violence is admirable restraint in the eyes of another.

Some consider pepper-spray a non-lethal option, less likely to cause injury than brute force on students holding each other. Others consider it a chemical assault weapon, unleashed on unarmed students who were no danger to officers.

Both arguments have merit and there is enough blame to share in that incident. Hostile scenes and outrageous behavior will bring more attention, but in the end it doesn’t help anyone.

The tuition increases students protested against are still coming. The police still have a tainted public image. There are still calls for Chancellor Linda Katehi to resign. The aftermath at Davis has shown nobody won.

Sacramento State has seen its fair share of protests and with seemingly never-ending budget cuts, tuition increases and less classes available, protests are bound to happen again.

Thankfully, none of the protests here on campus have escalated to that level. When chaos occurs, it becomes the focus and the message becomes lost.

As students get fed up paying more than ever for classes in 2012 and protests get planned, everyone should make sure they don’t get out of hand.

Students and faculty have every right to shout and be angry in public, but physically preventing people from moving freely is not free speech.

Police have a right to remove people from camping illegally if they attempt to do so and not listen to requests to disperse. But the use of physical force, pepper-spray or any potentially painful method should only be done after a lot of consideration and other reasonable measures have been exhausted.

Administrators should be willing to hear angry students and faculty protest and shouldn’t be quick to silence those they disagree with. At some point if protesters become dangerous or unreasonably disruptive to campus, administrators have the right to call authorities to restore order. Students should listen to the police at that point, not provoke them to see how much they can get away with.

Whether it is because one works here or is studying and working for a better future, we all have to share campus and respect one another, even when emotions run high.

The next time Sacramento Hall is filled to the brink with people voicing their concerns, everyone should remember what can happen when things get out of hand and do their part to prevent it from happening.

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