National Free Speech News & Commentary

Michael Poliakoff and Jack Miller
RealClear Education

Excerpt: Over the last 60 years, there has been unconscionable neglect of civics and American history at both the K-12 and university levels.

Surveys by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) show that fewer than 20% of colleges nationwide require an American history or government course for graduation. Unsurprisingly, this deficit has made its way into the training of teachers too. Future K-12 teachers are unlikely to learn the basic facts about our founding principles and our long history of working toward that more perfect Union our founders envisioned. Fortunately, more and more public universities are doing their part to reverse this trend.

Olivia Reingold
The Free Press

Excerpt: When Houston Porter, a 28-year-old law student at Pace University, first walked into the college auditorium last month, he was surprised to see a packed house for the “Saving Women’s Sports” panel he was co-moderating.

But not long after, Porter’s world started “crumbling down”—with at least one professor shouting at panelists and another allegedly rushing the stage, followed by a Title IX investigation that accuses him of having “aggressively pointed” at a transgender student and misgendering her. Now Porter faces the possibility of suspension, expulsion, and even being barred from practicing law.

Jonathan Kay and Cass Sunstein
Quillette Podcast

Excerpt: Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with prolific Harvard University legal scholar Cass Sunstein about his new book, Campus Free Speech: A Pocket Guide.

Eileen Boris
Academe Blog

Excerpt: In yet another assault on academic freedom, civil liberties, and peaceful protest, Tiffany Willoughby-Herard, associate professor of global studies at the University of California, Irvine, is facing three misdemeanor charges for her effort to protect students when an excessive force of armed riot police (from twenty-one different units) assaulted the UCI Palestine solidarity encampment on May 15, 2024.

For her compassion and concern, this prize-winning mentor and teacher received charges of “failure to disperse at the scene of a riot,” “resisting a peace officer with the threat of violence,” and “resisting arrest.” Others arrested are facing the first two charges but only Willoughby-Herard faces threatening an officer in the process, a clear discrimination.

George Leef
National Review

Excerpt: As events of the last year have shown so clearly, there is a lot of tension on American campuses (particularly at our “elite” institutions) between the value of freedom of speech and the dis-value of speech that’s loaded with hatred. On many campuses, antisemitism has been rampant, with vicious verbal attacks on Jews — even those who aren’t necessarily pro-Israel.

How should we resolve the tension? That’s the question University of Illinois professor Cary Nelson addresses in his book Hate Speech and Academic Freedom, which I review here for the Martin Center.

Hannah Hutchins
Minding the Campus

Excerpt: As a medical practitioner applying for a faculty position at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Chan Medical School, it is no longer satisfactory to demonstrate a curriculum vitae of excellent merits in research and medical practice. One must also be actively involved in promoting “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) to a level that penalizes individuals who do not meet the strict levels of DEI engagement.