National Free Speech News & Commentary

By Jack Stripling
The Washington Post

Excerpt: On a Thursday morning in February, Charles Negy stood before a group of about 40 students, presiding over his theories-of-personality class at the University of Central Florida. Scattered across a large auditorium, students jotted notes as Negy, a 62-year-old associate professor of psychology, spoke about Sigmund Freud. Projection, Negy explained, is when “we see in others what we don’t want to see in ourselves.” It’s like calling someone else a racist, Negy continued, when, in truth, “everybody is a little bit racist.”

By Benjamin Ogilvie
Wall Street Journal

Excerpt: It’s been a great week for social-media engagement at the University of Chicago Law School. On June 14, the school posted on LinkedIn to share my recent contribution to the Journal’s Future View discussing the Bud Light and Target boycotts. That post received 36 ugly comments from 23 alumni and students, along with more than 500 likes and reactions. The school also received an open letter of denunciation from 22 law-student organizations.

The lists of “top colleges” have varied little in many years. They always include the Ivies, Stanford, MIT, Cal Tech, etc. But that could change. Colleges of all types can differentiate themselves on the core values of free speech and academic freedom, and those that do will increasingly attract more and better students, faculty, and employment opportunities for their graduates.

However, most of these “prestige” schools have low ratings in the annual survey of students on free speech issues conducted by the Foundation for Rights and Expression (FIRE). Many have had recent embarrassments that rightfully tarnished their image on free speech. And many have atmospheres that smack of indoctrination and huge bureaucracies to enforce those atmospheres.

By Academic Freedom Alliance Press Release

Excerpt: The Academic Freedom Alliance (AFA) today filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit as it considers Pernell v. Lamb, a case against Florida’s “Stop W.O.K.E. Act.” The AFA’s brief argues that Subsection 4 of the Act violates the First Amendment to the Constitution by preventing faculty from discussing “a wide range of concepts that appear in debates at the heart of many university courses.” The case is on appeal before the 11th Circuit, which has upheld a lower court’s injunction against the Act pending a final decision.

By Jonathan Turley
Jonathan Turley's Blog

Excerpt: After years of resisting demands under the Public Records Act (including alleged violations), UC Berkeley has finally turned over documents to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) on its hiring criteria. The files show that Berkeley has been grading faculty on their commitment to DEI, including viewpoints that should be protected by free speech or academic privileges.

By Ann Atkinson
Wall Street Journal

Excerpt: Beneath ASU’s written commitment to intellectual diversity lies a deep hostility toward divergent views. The latest trouble started in February when the Lewis Center hosted Robert Kiyosaki, Dennis Prager and Charlie Kirk for an event on “Health, Wealth, and Happiness.” This nonpartisan program was part of a popular speaker series focused on connecting students with professionals who can offer career and life advice.