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WHY DO WE NEED FEARLESS AND ROBUST SPEECH ON UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES?
Freedom, innovation, and democracy go together
University campuses have always been a place for resistance against oppression and a battleground for our freedom of expression
since the early days of the Republic. Today both public and private universities are struggling with how to preserve and encourage freedom of thought and expression in the face of state political interference and cancel culture. According to key findings of the 2022-2023 College Free Speech Rankings report by The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (Fire), “Alarming proportions of students self-censor, report worry or discomfort about
expressing their ideas in a variety of contexts, find controversial ideas hard to discuss, show intolerance for controversial speakers, find their administrations unclear or worse regarding support for free speech, and even report that disruption of events or violence are, to some degree, acceptable
tactics for shutting down the speech of others.”
In an instructive and inspiring article in the Boston Globe, Barnard College’s Sian Bellock, a cognitive scientist and public intellectual with a large social media presence, and Dartmouth College’s Phil Hanlon, a prominent American mathematician and computer scientist, talk about the danger of being silent on the campus. Bellock and Hanlon write, “But it isn’t what people are saying on campus that’s the problem. Rather it is self-censorship, what is
being left unsaid, that is the true issue….It is our own unwillingness to speak that has eroded our ability to seek deeper truth through the interchange of
ideas — in academia and beyond. The fear of speaking up is driving discourse down. What speech will be left to save if no one is talking?” We must have the
courage to be wrong, they say, and university campuses must move from “safe spaces” to “brave spaces.”
To address concerns surrounding campus free speech censorship, Bellock and Hanlon urge that universities should prioritize the development of critical thinking skills among their students. By teaching students how to evaluate and critique different perspectives, universities can empower
To address concerns surrounding campus free speech censorship, Bellock and Hanlon urge that universities should prioritize the development of critical thinking skills among their students. By teaching students how to evaluate and critique different perspectives, universities can empower
individuals to engage in respectful debates and form well-informed opinions. Intellectual diversity should be actively promoted, ensuring that a wide range
of viewpoints are represented and considered within academic settings. This includes inviting speakers from diverse backgrounds and ideologies, challenging
students to grapple with contrasting opinions, and encouraging the exploration of uncomfortable or controversial subjects.
But the challenge is whether university administrators and professors can help and encourage students to free themselves from the fear of freedom, the fear of free speech, on campus.
But the challenge is whether university administrators and professors can help and encourage students to free themselves from the fear of freedom, the fear of free speech, on campus.
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By Dr. Narain BatraFreedom, innovation, and democracy go together
University campuses have always been a place for resistance against oppression and a battleground for our freedom of expression
since the early days of the Republic. Today both public and private universities are struggling with how to preserve and encourage freedom of thought and expression in the face of state political interference and cancel culture. According to key findings of the 2022-2023 College Free Speech Rankings report by The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (Fire), “Alarming proportions of students self-censor, report worry or discomfort about
expressing their ideas in a variety of contexts, find controversial ideas hard to discuss, show intolerance for controversial speakers, find their administrations unclear or worse regarding support for free speech, and even report that disruption of events or violence are, to some degree, acceptable
tactics for shutting down the speech of others.”
In an instructive and inspiring article in the Boston Globe, Barnard College’s Sian Bellock, a cognitive scientist and public intellectual with a large social media presence, and Dartmouth College’s Phil Hanlon, a prominent American mathematician and computer scientist, talk about the danger of being silent on the campus. Bellock and Hanlon write, “But it isn’t what people are saying on campus that’s the problem. Rather it is self-censorship, what is
being left unsaid, that is the true issue….It is our own unwillingness to speak that has eroded our ability to seek deeper truth through the interchange of
ideas — in academia and beyond. The fear of speaking up is driving discourse down. What speech will be left to save if no one is talking?” We must have the
courage to be wrong, they say, and university campuses must move from “safe spaces” to “brave spaces.”
To address concerns surrounding campus free speech censorship, Bellock and Hanlon urge that universities should prioritize the development of critical thinking skills among their students. By teaching students how to evaluate and critique different perspectives, universities can empower
To address concerns surrounding campus free speech censorship, Bellock and Hanlon urge that universities should prioritize the development of critical thinking skills among their students. By teaching students how to evaluate and critique different perspectives, universities can empower
individuals to engage in respectful debates and form well-informed opinions. Intellectual diversity should be actively promoted, ensuring that a wide range
of viewpoints are represented and considered within academic settings. This includes inviting speakers from diverse backgrounds and ideologies, challenging
students to grapple with contrasting opinions, and encouraging the exploration of uncomfortable or controversial subjects.
But the challenge is whether university administrators and professors can help and encourage students to free themselves from the fear of freedom, the fear of free speech, on campus.
But the challenge is whether university administrators and professors can help and encourage students to free themselves from the fear of freedom, the fear of free speech, on campus.