Two prominent free speech advocates urged the nation’s universities to take a hard look at its policies that restrict expression on campus. “Restrictions on free expression on college campuses are incompatible with the fundamental values of higher education. At public institutions, they violate the First Amendment; at most private institutions, they break faith with stated commitments to academic freedom,” write Geoffrey R. Stone And Will Creeley in The Washington Post, September 25, 2015.
The University of Chicago released last January a report by the Committee on Freedom of Expression that reaffirmed the university’s commitment to permitting “ideas and opinions” that may be “offensive or disagreeable” to some community members. Other faculties across the country used the report to launch their own look at their policies. Princeton, Purdue and American University have recently adopted policies that rest on the Chicago statement. (The Chicago Maroon, January 9, 2015, by Isaac Stein)