Free Speech News

Editor's note: In more than one way, Easter is about new beginnings. So this week's edition kicks off with your comments on The Daily Signal's coverage of the White House's "Generation Next" forum focused on millennials. Write us at [email protected].—Ken McIntyre Dear Daily Signal: Turning Point USA's Candace Owens is indeed courageous, as Rob Bluey's interview…

The irony and hypocrisy are obviously lost on self-styled “anti-fascists” who loudly—and, more often than not, violently—shut down, in fascist fashion, the free speech of others on college campuses. Or maybe they are in fact aware of the hypocrisy and just don’t care about the bad PR optics, because they are so self-righteously convinced of…

Inside Higher Ed last week ran an obituary for an idea that was doomed from the start: free speech zones on college campuses. Those zones are often small, hard-to-find areas of campus, and school officials restrict individuals from handing out flyers or demonstrating outside of those areas. The Inside Higher Ed obit says Los Angeles’ Pierce…

Any American who ever questions whether the First Amendment is vital to protect free speech should just cast a glance across the Atlantic. Europeans share the same values we do—indeed, our concept of rights derives from European philosophers—and yet they often adopt misguided laws that circumscribe freedom of expression. The latest blunder comes courtesy of…

During the past 18 months, college students have engaged in disruptive and even violent activities toward guest speakers whose ideas they considered offensive. In response, college administrators have tended to capitulate to—or collaborate with—the demonstrators by disinviting scheduled speakers and disciplining students or professors whose views were considered offensive. In fact, recent studies by the…

Editor's note: Outrage over the muzzling of certain ideas in our school classrooms and government offices is the common thread of this week's collection of correspondence from The Daily Signal's audience. Write us at [email protected].—Ken McIntyre Dear Daily Signal: How is the bullying and threatening of a Boise State University political science professor, Scott Yenor,…

“The history of intellectual growth and discovery clearly demonstrates the need for unfettered freedom, the right to think the unthinkable, discuss the unmentionable, and challenge the unchallengeable.” This quote, taken from the 1974 Woodward Report at Yale, summarizes the policy that was, for years, the gold standard of what free speech on campus should look…

In recent days, college students have shouted down, pepper-sprayed, punched, and otherwise shut down the campus guests whose ideas they considered offensive. The most prominent recent cases have included Milo Yiannopoulos (University of California, Berkeley), Charles Murray (Middlebury College), and Heather Mac Donald (Claremont McKenna College), but a number of institutions have disinvited scheduled speakers…

Free speech on campuses—and the lack thereof—was the topic of a hearing on Tuesday of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Among the panelists was Zachary Wood, a 21-year-old student at Williams College and president of a group called Uncomfortable Learning, which attempts to expose students to a diversity of opinion by hosting speakers on campus. Opposition…

Higher education rests on the free flow of ideas. Education requires that positions be held tentatively, tested by opposing arguments that are rationally considered, and evaluated. All colleges therefore must protect free speech. Public institutions must adhere to the various guarantees of the First Amendment. Too often, all of these fundamental principles have been under assault….