As Promised, Trump Signs Contentious Executive Order on Campus Free Speech
President Trump vowed to sign an executive order requiring American colleges and universities to protect free speech on campus, and would withhold federal research funds from schools that don't comply. “Today, I am proud to announce that I will be very soon be signing an executive order requiring colleges and universities to support free speech if they want federal research funds,” Trump said in his remarks at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, known as CPAC.
First Amendment Watch in collaboration with NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New-York Historical Society and the Institute for Constitutional History sponsored a talk for NYC educators by Robert Post, First Amendment scholar and former dean of Yale Law School. The topic, “Free Speech on Campus and Academic Freedom in the Trump Era,” addressed important First Amendment issues facing educators and students. Click through for Facebook Live videos of the event.
Authors Share Excerpts on Free Speech: Erwin Chemerinsky & Howard Gillman and Free Speech on Campus
Free Speech on Campus "provides the background necessary to understanding the importance of free speech on campus and offers clear prescriptions for what colleges can and can’t do when dealing with free speech controversies." - Yale University Press
Senate Hearing on “Exploring Free Speech on College Campuses”
A FIRE summary states that “Providing testimony before the committee were Robert Zimmer, president of the University of Chicago; Nadine Strossen, New York Law School professor, former president of the ACLU, and current […]
Free Speech Defender? Attorney General Enters Campus Free Speech Debate
At an invitation-only event at Georgetown University law school, Attorney General Jeff Sessions jumped into the debate over campus speech by stating that the First Amendment had suffered from "political correctness and homogeneous thought" and that "a national recommitment to free speech on campus" was needed. While some applauded the administration's commitment to free speech, protestors rallied against attacks on the First Amendment by the administration.
Pro-Palestinian Protests Sweep US College Campuses Following Arrests at Columbia
Schools sought to diffuse tensions over Israel’s war with Hamas while struggling with where to draw the line between allowing free expression while maintaining campus safety.
USC ‘Redesigning’ Commencement Amid Campus Controversy Over Israel-Hamas War
The university’s decision was met with praise from pro-Israel organizations but condemnation from free speech groups and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Citing Safety, USC Cancels Speech by Valedictorian Who Supported Palestinians
A First Amendment attorney expressed concern about cancelling events that could be perceived as censorship, and the possibility of other schools buckling to pressure.