National Free Speech News & Commentary

UVA, Dartmouth Latest to Reject Trump's Higher Ed Compact

Ryan Quinn October 17, 2025 1 min read

Ryan Quinn
Inside Higher Ed

Excerpt: The University of Virginia and Dartmouth College have become the latest higher ed institutions to publicly reject the Trump administration’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education." Now just three of the nine institutions that the federal government originally presented with the document have yet to announce whether they will sign. 

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USC rejects Trump education compact aimed at shifting the university to the right

Daniel Miller and Jaweed Kaleem October 16, 2025 1 min read

Daniel Miller and Jaweed Kaleem
LA Times

Excerpt: The University of Southern California on Thursday rejected the controversial education compact the Trump administration offered it and eight other schools, saying it would undermine “values of free inquiry and academic excellence.”

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Authoritarians in the Academy

Sarah McLaughlin October 15, 2025 1 min read

Sarah McLaughlin
FIRE, The Free Speech Podcast 

Excerpt: FIRE Senior Scholar Sarah McLaughlin discusses her new book, "Authoritarians in the Academy: How the Internationalization of Higher Education and Borderless Censorship Threaten Free Speech."

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Men are more tolerant of the other side than women are of their own

Chapin Lenthall-Cleary October 15, 2025 1 min read

Chapin Lenthall-Cleary
The Eternally Radical Idea

Excerpt: Suppose you’re a controversial left-wing speaker. Who do you think would be more likely to let you voice your opinions on campus: a slightly conservative man or a democratic socialist woman?

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Brown Joins MIT, Rejects Compact

Josh Moody  October 15, 2025 1 min read

Josh Moody 
Inside Higher Ed

Excerpt: Citing multiple concerns, Brown University on Wednesday rejected an invitation to join the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” that the Trump administration proposed.

Following MIT’s rejection, the Trump administration said the compact was open to all colleges. But of the original nine invitees, there are no takers so far, though officials at the University of Texas system have indicated they view the proposal favorably. The system’s flagship in Austin was part of the nine.

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Harvard Must Take a Stand Against Trump’s Compact

Ryan D. Enos and Steven Levitsky October 14, 2025 1 min read

Ryan D. Enos and Steven Levitsky
Harvard Crimson 

Excerpt: The Trump administration’s authoritarian offensive is accelerating.

It is now openly persecuting opponents, bullying media to silence critics, and sending masked security forces to terrorize cities, and the president recently told top military commanders to prepare to fight the “enemy from within.”

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