National Free Speech News & Commentary

John Bitzen
Reason Magazine

Excerpt: With the start of the academic year, campuses across the nation are preparing for more protests over the Israel-Hamas conflict. As students return to campus, the underlying issues that ignited these demonstrations—misunderstandings and misapplications of free speech—remain unaddressed. These protests have revealed a pressing challenge for universities: upholding the principles of free speech amid modern political activism.university-sponsored on that date.

Ryan Quinn
Inside Higher Ed

Excerpt: North Carolina’s four-year public universities have eliminated 59 positions and “realigned” about 130 more since the University of North Carolina Board of Governors repealed the system’s DEI policy, according to a newly released summary from the UNC system.

In May, the board voted 22 to 2 to repeal and replace its policy with one that doesn’t mention race. The board required universities to report on their efforts to comply by the start of last week, and the UNC System released the results from this “equality certification” Wednesday.

Sean Stevens
The Eternally Radical Idea

Excerpt: This past spring, FIRE’s College Free Speech Rankings survey was in the field when the encampment protests began. This gives FIRE the ability to analyze how student attitudes about free speech changed in response to the encampment protests. FIRE also conducted a separate survey on the encampment protests at 30 of the 251 ranked schools during the months of May and June.

The data from these two surveys offer incredible insight into how students reacted to the encampment protests. Among other things, they reveal that administrators on many campuses across the country have lost the trust of their students when it comes to free speech on campus.

Laura Spitalniak
Higher Ed Dive

Excerpt: In August, regional AAUP conferences surveyed 2,924 faculty members from twelve Southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Roughly 60% of survey participants hold tenure.

Over half of faculty cited salary concerns and their state’s political climate as factors pushing them to pursue other employment, at 56.5% and 53.3% respectively. And 49.6% cited concerns over academic freedom.

Aaron Ross Powell
The Unpopullist, Substack

Excerpt: Today we’re diving into one of the most pressing issues of our time: free speech. Our host Aaron Ross Powell is joined by a special guest, Ken White—better known online as Popehat—a First Amendment expert, seasoned criminal defense attorney, civil litigator, and cohost of the Serious Trouble podcast.

Together, they’ll explore some of the most pressing questions in free speech discourse today: Have we become too quick to label some speech as offensive? Are we idealizing a past where free expression was supposedly more open? And, most importantly, how can we foster richer, more nuanced conversations in an increasingly polarized world?

Bill Frezza
Heterodox STEM, Substack

Excerpt: I recently had the pleasure of serving as one of the judges for a high school debate program called Incubate Debate held at the New College of Florida. It also included an evening speaking to and with the students involved, who ranged in age from 12 to 18. They had spent an entire week in this residential program training for the big event, learning how to research and debate complex and controversial issues with vigor, clarity, and civility.

I was shocked by how outspoken, courageous, courteous, studious, poised, well-informed, attentive, and totally uninfected by the Woke Mind Virus these kids were. It gives me fresh hope for the next generation.