Hollis, Leah P. (2018). The Ironic Interplay of Free Speech and Silencing: Does Workplace Bullying Compromise Free Speech in Higher Education?. Online Submission, AAUP Journal of Academic Freedom v9. Free speech is one of the cornerstones of higher education. Professors and other knowledge workers should have the freedom to speak reasonably and collegially about a wide range of topics, even if their ideas are controversial or unpopular. However, just like any other tool, if misused, free speech can have results very different from those intended, restricting speech by silencing others. Workplace bullying, harassment, and hostile speech chill the environment and motivate those facing abuse to withhold valuable contributions. Stating that bullying and coercing others is one's right as free speech is an excuse to sidestep the actions of the bully, instead of addressing the impact of bullying on the educational environment. This essay explores the right to free speech and its interplay with aggressive bullying speech. The discussion also reflects on how abusive free speech, whether in person or in cyberspace, hurts the academic environment and suppresses the expression of those it is… [PDF]

Bhattacharya, Kakali, Ed.; Dutt-Ballerstadt, Reshmi, Ed. (2021). Civility, Free Speech, and Academic Freedom in Higher Education: Faculty on the Margins. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group "Civility, Free Speech, and Academic Freedom in Higher Education: Faculty on the Margins" represents a multidisciplinary approach, deploying different theoretical, methodological, sociological, political, and creative perspectives to articulate the stakes of civility for marginalized faculty within the landscape of higher education. How has the discourse on civility and free speech within academia become a systemic and oppressive form of silencing, suppressing, or eradicating marginal voices? What are some overt and covert ways in which institutions are using the logic of civility to control faculty uprising against the increasingly corporate-controlled landscape of higher education? This collection of essays examines the continuum between the post-9/11 and the post-Trump era backlashes. It details the organized retaliations against those in academia whose views and scholarships articulate their discontents against the U.S.-led "War on Terror." It contests the… [Direct]

Ramlo, Susan (2020). Free Speech on US University Campuses: Differentiating Perspectives Using Q Methodology. Studies in Higher Education, v45 n7 p1488-1506. Recently, campus free speech has become a focus of contentious debate and increased scrutiny. This study confirms that although university stakeholders may generally embrace the concept of free speech on campus, they also disagree about its limits and purpose within higher education, even if they are from the same institution. This investigation used Q methodology to scientifically study the subjectivity (viewpoints) among a diverse set of university stakeholders within the United States. Participants provided a snapshot of their views by sorting 55 statements related to speech on campus. The analyses revealed consensus, distinguishing statements, and rich descriptions of five unique speech on campus viewpoints: "Idealistic," "Social Justice," "Speech Crisis," "Sage on the Stage," and "Fox News." These viewpoints provided insights about how university stakeholders perceive speech on campus. Consensus includes acceptance that ideas… [Direct]

Martin, Brian (2019). Free Speech on Australian Campuses: Hidden Barriers. Australian Universities' Review, v61 n1 p49-54. Speech at Australian universities is restricted in various ways. A few of them, such as student protests against visiting speakers, receive lots of attention. Others seldom do, such as defamation threats and cyber harassment. Self-censorship may be more significant than overt censorship. Those who want to raise awareness of hidden limitations on speech can learn from the methods used to raise the alarm about student protests…. [PDF]

Daugherty, Eleanor J. B. (2020). Free Speech in the Academy: Living Our Values during Challenging Times. Journal of College and Character, v21 n3 p151-156. This article explores the role of campuses and universities in protecting free speech while providing for the needs of students adversely impacted by speaker content. A specific event at the University of Connecticut is examined as well as the university response and creation of event procedures to adequately prepare for similar events in the future. Finally, the purpose of higher education will be examined within the current political and social climate…. [Direct]

Horzempa, Magdalene (2018). Free Speech at UNC 2018: Annual Report on Free Speech and Institutional Neutrality in the UNC System. James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal In 2017, the North Carolina legislature passed House Bill 527 (now State Law 2017-196) in order to foster free, open inquiry in the state's colleges and universities. One of the provisions ordered the University of North Carolina system Board of Governors to produce an annual report on two major categories of intellectual freedom: free speech and institutional neutrality. This report is due on September 1. The free speech provisions of the law protect students exercising their First Amendment rights and require institutions to punish anyone who infringes upon these rights. This is fundamental to the purpose of a university, permitting the free exchange of ideas that is a prerequisite for the search for truth. The law protects students and guest speakers alike from being disrupted or silenced. It also states that higher education institutions should aspire to "institutional neutrality," which means they "may not take action, as an institution, on the public policy… [PDF]

Headrick, Jason; McCain, Kate; Sunderman, Hannah M. (2020). Addressing Complex Issues and Crises in Higher Education with an Adaptive Leadership Framework. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, v52 n6 p22-29. While American universities have historically been centers of free thought, college campuses have become increasingly divided on free speech issues. College leaders need to balance upholding free speech with protecting the safety of students. This article describes and recommends the adaptive leadership framework for administrators to use during complex campus issues, such as free speech challenges. After defining and presenting a conceptual framework for adaptive leadership, the authors briefly describe three incidents at University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) and then apply the adaptive leadership framework to the response of administrators. It is their hope that other leaders in higher education will be better equipped to address issues on their campuses by utilizing adaptive leadership…. [Direct]

(2018). Campus Free-Speech Legislation: History, Progress, and Problems. American Association of University Professors Claiming that free speech is dying on American campuses, a conservative think tank has led an effort to push states to adopt a model bill that, in the name of defending campus free speech, risks undermining it. This report seeks to understand the context and content of the "campus free-speech" movement, to track its influence within state legislatures, and to draw some conclusions concerning the best ways to respond to it…. [Direct]

Robert Kim (2024). Under the Law: "That's so Meta"–Social Media, Students, and 21st-Century Litigation. Phi Delta Kappan, v105 n7 p62-63. Social media companies are increasingly being called to account for how their apps are affecting young people. Robert Kim explores "In re: Social Media Addiction," a lawsuit that combines multiple cases that have been brought against social media companies for their addictive effects. The cases illustrate the tension between product liability and free speech laws. To what extent can companies be held liable for consequences resulting from speech on their platforms? And what aspects of the products' design fall under speech laws and what aspects fall under product liability laws?… [Direct]

Whittington, Keith E. (2018). Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech. New Forum Books. Princeton University Press Free speech is under attack at colleges and universities today, with critics on and off campus challenging the value of open inquiry and freewheeling intellectual debate. Too often speakers are shouted down, professors are threatened, and classes are disrupted. In "Speak Freely," Keith Whittington argues that universities must protect and encourage free speech because vigorous free speech is the lifeblood of the university. Without free speech, a university cannot fulfill its most basic, fundamental, and essential purposes, including fostering freedom of thought, ideological diversity, and tolerance. Examining such hot-button issues as trigger warnings, safe spaces, hate speech, disruptive protests, speaker disinvitations, the use of social media by faculty, and academic politics, "Speak Freely" describes the dangers of empowering campus censors to limit speech and enforce orthodoxy. It explains why free speech and civil discourse are at the heart of the… [Direct]

Moses, Michele S. (2021). "Very Fine People on Both Sides:" Diverse Viewpoints, Truth, and Free Speech on Campus. Educational Studies: Journal of the American Educational Studies Association, v57 n4 p365-377. Reflecting a larger context of profound political polarization, controversies and protests around campus speakers have exposed deep social fractures, highlighting an important normative question for campus leaders and educators: how should we make decisions about what views are reasonable and thus merit debate on campus? Although it may be received wisdom that institutions of higher learning in a democratic society are obligated to provide forums for the unfettered, open exchange of ideas, that sense is built on the assumption that the ideas put forward for consideration are reasonable and defensible. Should any and all perspectives always be up for debate? Must campus communities provide forums for viewpoints that democratic societies regard as patently untrue or beyond the pale of what is right and good? In this article, I make the case that, because their missions center discovery and knowledge production, grounded in academic freedom, colleges and universities are far from spaces… [Direct]

Baer, Ulrich (2019). What Snowflakes Get Right: Free Speech, Truth, and Equality on Campus. Oxford University Press Angry debates about polarizing speakers have roiled college campuses. Conservatives accuse universities of muzzling unpopular opinions, betraying their values of open inquiry; students sympathetic to the left openly advocate against completely unregulated speech, asking for "safe spaces" and protection against visiting speakers and even curricula they feel disrespects them. Some even call these students "snowflakes"-too fragile to be exposed to opinions and ideas that challenge their worldviews. How might universities resolve these debates about free speech, which pit their students' welfare against the university's commitment to free inquiry and open debate? Ulrich Baer here provides a new way of looking at this dilemma. He explains how the current dichotomy is false and is not really about the feelings of offended students, or protecting an open marketplace of ideas. Rather, what is really at stake is our democracy's commitment to equality, and the university's… [Direct]

Thomas Capretta (2024). Polarization, Politics, and Family Voice in Schools: Extending a Framework for Inclusive Freedom to Family-School Interactions. Philosophical Studies in Education, v55 p 99-108. Much has been written regarding student and educator expression in school; however, until recently, family expression seemed to be overlooked in debates on speech and education. Though discussion among education practitioners and researchers on family-school partnerships has continued for over thirty years, thoughtful analysis of interactions between families and schools, including how schools respond to controversial speech, is still required. Like primary and secondary schools in the US, considerations around speech on the college campus are ongoing. In "Free Speech on Campus," Sigal Ben-Porath offers that the college campus's unique values and nature demand unique considerations around speech. In response, Ben-Porath proposes a framework called "Inclusive Freedom," which centers both equal access and freedom of expression in campus dialogue. Schools could learn from this framework when developing dispositions and strategies for engaging with families. In this… [PDF]

Martin, Kimberly; Tecklenburg, H. Chris (2020). The White Nationalist on Campus: Re-Examining University Free Speech and Leading through Crisis. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, v23 n1 p111-123 Mar. One month after the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, left three dead and many injured and arrested, another university faces a tough decision about whether to allow controversial alt-right leader, Richard Spencer, to speak on campus. What seems like a simple decision to allow or deny a speaking request becomes a much deeper conversation about leadership, the value of free speech, and the role of the university to facilitate debate and critical analysis of controversial ideas and viewpoints…. [Direct]

Kissel, Adam (2020). Campus Free Speech: A Cultural Approach. Sketching a New Conservative Education Agenda. American Enterprise Institute US colleges and universities have well-documented cultures of self-censorship and oppression of disfavored views. In contrast, free expression is consistent with campus values of toleration, diversity, and inclusion. External forces such as lawsuits and legislation can help protect free expression, but lasting change must come from a shift in campus culture. This brief report suggests that effective cultural reform will include reformation of admissions practices, residence life, and curriculum, administrative training for crisis management on matters of free expression, and a culture of modeling good behavior, rather than punishing minority viewpoints…. [PDF]

Lawrence, Pareena G. (2018). When Core Values Collide: Diversity, Inclusion, and Free Speech. Liberal Education, v104 n2 Spr. When considering the current state of public discourse about diversity, inclusion, and free speech, Pareena G. Lawrence begins this article on two hopeful notes: First, Americans celebrate diversity more fervently than their peers in other countries, and second, we've gotten through divisive times in our national history before. In the hope that these two points suggest reasons for optimism the author asks how may we argue with one another about issues that are perceived as divisive and troubling. Lawrence then asks readers to consider how faculty and administrators may respond to controversy, and how we can best manage the problems that often surround a controversy–problems of legal rights and responsibilities, safety and security on campus, allocation of budget resources, and–not least–the emotional lives of students. The author touches on what is perhaps the most intractable problem of all: how we may proceed when people do not want to argue, but instead are determined to… [Direct]

Esposito, Jennifer (2023). Free Speech, Cancel Culture, Race, Privilege, and Higher Education: An Intersectional Analysis of Netflix's "The Chair". Innovative Higher Education, v48 n5 p949-969 Oct. A Netflix original six-episode series, "The Chair," examines the experiences of a woman faculty of color department chair at the fictional Pembroke College. One of the many stressors she must navigate is a response to an incompetent white male faculty (who is also her love interest) after he makes a Nazi salute during a lecture in class. By watching this series, many viewers learned about how higher education administrators may respond to situations where a faculty member engages in questionable speech. The ensuing drama that occurs on campus in response to the Nazi salute and the students' perceptions that the administration will and can do nothing of consequence to the professor showcases the messiness and intricacies of what has been termed "cancel culture." In this paper, I use intersectional analysis to examine "The Chair" and the messages it sends about race, privilege, and cancel culture in higher education…. [Direct]

(2020). Free Speech and the Inclusive Campus: How Do We Foster the Campus Community We Want?. NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education In today's contentious and divided political environment, what should colleges and universities do to meet the roles and responsibilities of higher education to foster the campus community we want? This guide presents three options for deliberation about difficult problems regarding free speech and inclusion–for which there are no perfect solutions. Each option offers advantages as well as drawbacks, and each reflects different ways of understanding what is at stake, forcing us to think about what matters most to us. These options include: (1) Prioritize student safety and well-being; (2) Affirm the educational value of intellectual curiosity and engaging with ideas across difference; and (3) Uphold the ideals of free speech. The research involved in developing this guide included interviews and conversations with campus stakeholders who have multiple perspectives; the initial drafts were reviewed by individuals with direct experience in student affairs and higher education…. [PDF]

Scott, Joyce A.; Travis, Jon E. (2017). Free Speech and Slurs: Rights vs. Respect. College Student Journal, v51 n2 p291-297 Sum. Slurs, either spoken or printed, can be classified as expressions of derogation, because their use is a generalized, negative characterization or classification of groups without regard to individual uniqueness. The use of such slurs consequently can cause the target and the listener or reader (i.e., receiver) discomfort, unless the receiver has developed an ability to depersonalize such communication. Due to the potential of derogatory slurs to cause harm, some advocate the implementation of prior restrictions or subsequent sanctions to curb the use of slurs. To do so, however, poses a threat to America's most valued freedom: speech. In this examination of the derogatory aspect of slurs, the authors demonstrate that the guarantee of free speech in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is considered by the courts as so sacred that offensive speech, such as slurs, is protected in public use. Even so, college campuses cannot remain open forums of free expression if students are… [Direct]

Ferguson, S. Kiersten; Guida, Tonia; Medina, Elizabeth; Miller, Ryan A.; Smith, Stella (2018). Free Speech Tensions: Responding to Bias on College and University Campuses. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, v55 n1 p27-39. Despite the increasing development of bias response teams on college and university campuses, little scholarship has examined these teams and, in particular, team leaders' approaches to understanding the role of free speech in responding to bias. Through semi-structured interviews, administrators who served on bias response teams at 19 predominantly White institutions described the need to balance free speech with other interests, recognize the nuance of First Amendment protections, and respond with educational conversations…. [Direct]

Stone, Spencer Dwight (2018). United States Court Cases on Student Free Speech from 2009-2017. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, The University of Alabama. School system personnel are charged with numerous difficult, and sometimes conflicting, tasks. One of those tasks is to teach their students about their free speech rights while also maintaining order in the school building. Sometimes, when students choose to exercise those rights the results put administrators in a difficult situation of trying to maintain order while not trampling on a student's Constitutional rights. Further complicating these issues is the fact that many of the governing court cases in student free speech were decided before the invention of the internet, and social media is a hotbed of speech issues. Students' rights to free speech are primarily governed by the "Morse Quartet"–four Supreme Court cases that help to define what is, and is not, allowed speech by students. Courts use the outcomes in these cases to decide if the speech in the case at hand is permissible. Some notable problems to this routine are the fact that cases frequently involve… [Direct]

Thompson, Christiane (2021). Debating Academic Freedom. Educational-Philosophical Premises and Problems. Educational Philosophy and Theory, v53 n11 p1086-1096. In the past years, there has been an intensive discussion on the topic of academic freedom in the university. More precisely, it has been criticized that the university is confronted with a growing intolerance and the request to limit free speech. This contribution takes a case at a German university as point of departure. It shows how the current discussions draw on central figures of the philosophy of Enlightenment. In the first part of the paper, the ideas of free speech following Kant, Mill, and Popper are presented. The second part of the article shows how these positions can also lead to an inversion or instrumentalization of Enlightenment thought. This is illustrated using exemplary statements from the case presented in the beginning of the article. In the third part of the article, the concept of higher education or "Bildung" will be discussed in relation to academic freedom. The guiding principle is an openness toward a pluralistic discourse that is to be framed by… [Direct]

Hendricks, Randy; Vasek, Mandy (2016). Teachers, Social Media, and Free Speech. eJEP: eJournal of Education Policy, Spr. Teachers across the United States routinely use social media to improve communication with students and parents, enrich the classroom curriculum, and engage in professional conversations with peers. However, teacher use of social media also has a dark side. Media reports are replete with stories of teachers engaging in inappropriate social networking with students. In addition, teachers have also been disciplined for controversial social media content even when students or other members of the school community are not the intended audience. The trending issue of teachers' inappropriate or controversial use of social media amplifies the need for school leaders to be cognizant of teachers' First Amendment free speech rights and the circumstances permitting school control. A framework is proposed for developing social media policies that balance the First Amendment expression rights of teachers and pedagogical benefits of social media with the need for appropriate limitations…. [PDF]

Khan, Momina (2019). When Does Free Speech Become Offensive Speech? Teaching Controversial Issues in Classrooms. Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue, v21 n1-2 p35-50. Grade 12 students in my son's psychology class had been asked to share their deepest reactions and thoughts toward the victims of the "Charlie Hebdo" incident in Paris. "Charlie Hebdo" is a satirical magazine that had published controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Students felt sympathetic toward the victims and solely held Islamic extremism responsible for it. During the heated conversations, a female Muslim student stood up and voiced her perspective. Given the teacher's discomfort with the potential reaction to the counter story, he shut down a crucial conversation that could have created a space for critically assessing polarizing debates…. [Direct]

Edens, Joe (2018). Civic Aspirations and a New Path Forward for Free Speech on Campus. About Campus, v23 n2 p24-29 May-Jun. Joe Edens discusses the challenges of free speech when such speech includes content that undermines the ideologies of higher education, such as diversity, tolerance, or intellectual rigor. Even in cases of controversial or provocative speech, he believes that the process of free speech should not be hindered and employs John D. Inazu's concept of "confident pluralism"–that we can coexist despite profound difference–to imagine how we can engage deeply with those who hold vastly different perspectives. Though it can be difficult to practice tolerance, patience, and humility during a collision of perspectives, it is necessary to support free and civil discourse…. [Direct]

Strossen, Nadine (2020). Resisting Cancel Culture: Promoting Dialogue, Debate, and Free Speech in the College Classroom. Perspectives on Higher Education. American Council of Trustees and Alumni The author has built one of America's most distinguished careers among defenders of free speech and civil liberties. Cancel culture, presented in this essay, is not a new phenomenon. In this essay, the author marshals a wealth of survey data to show the scope and depth of the growing crisis: Americans feel more pressure to conceal their viewpoints today than during the McCarthy era. Some people–among them many civil libertarians–dismiss or minimize the crisis, making three arguments. The first is that cancel culture amounts to a spate of overhyped anecdotes, not a national problem. But, as the author shows, recent survey evidence finds that Americans are more fearful to voice their real opinions now than at the height of the McCarthy era. Almost a third worry their livelihoods will suffer if they fail to self-censor. On campus and off, millions feel the chill. A second claim is that cancel culture is just criticism, and if people can not stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. But,… [PDF]

Butcher, Jonathan (2019). Executive Order to Protect Free Speech on Campus Recognizes Ongoing Challenge. Issue Brief No. 4942. Heritage Foundation The White House released an executive order to protect free speech on college campuses, appropriately highlighting the issue of ongoing threats to expression in the ivory tower. The President and his Administration exercised restraint with this order by directing federal agencies to stay within the bounds of existing law as the agencies implement the directive. Such restraint is welcome because new federal regulations run the risk of interfering with individual rights and making Washington a larger presence in Americans' everyday lives. Now the task remains for state lawmakers to use state proposals to protect free expression in public university systems. Policymakers in Arizona, North Carolina, Georgia, and Wisconsin have already adopted proposals that other states should follow. Key takeaways: (1) President Trump's executive order on campus free speech raises the profile of a critical issue; (2) The order directs agencies to stay within the bounds of existing law while protecting… [PDF]

Michalinos Zembylas (2024). The Phenomenon of Cancel Culture through the Social Media: Pedagogical Implications for Teacher Education. Pedagogy, Culture and Society, v32 n5 p1495-1512. This paper suggests that the phenomenon of 'cancel culture' has significant pedagogical implications for teacher education. In particular, the analysis problematises the phenomenon of cancel culture, focusing on how issues relating to race, racism and structural injustice are framed in social media. It is argued that for teacher education programs wrestling with how to guide teachers to deal with cancel culture, it is not enough to emphasise critical thinking, media literacy, debate and free speech. It is also important to avoid reproducing social media's framing of cancel culture as an individualised and psychologised phenomenon, and urge teachers to pay attention to structural issues of race, racism and injustice. It is suggested that despite the political or other risks involved, teacher education programs can make a valuable contribution to public debates by engaging cancel culture in ways that nurture vigilance and restorative justice measures…. [Direct]

Ben-Porath, Sigal R. (2017). Putting Civility in Its Place–Free Speech in the Classroom. Thought & Action, v33 n2 p91-101 Sum. Academic freedom gives professors broad discretion over expressions and interactions in the classroom. Free speech guidelines and First Amendment protections permit students to speak their minds too, but they offer very limited guidance as to how classrooms should operate. While professors should obviously work within free speech parameters in the classroom, there are two additional principles that should guide their work: the first intellectual and the second civic. First, as part of their commitment to teaching–developing and disseminating knowledge–instructors are bound by intellectual honesty in ways that can in fact limit their expression. Second, college teaching should contribute to the development of civic skills and values. A good college education would include at least some–and ideally many–instructors who see themselves not only as teaching in their field but also as educators who prepare their students for their broader roles in society. In this regard, instructors… [Direct]

Pegues, Conrad R. (2018). Engendering Social Justice in First Year Information Literacy Classes. Communications in Information Literacy, v12 n2 Article 8 p193-202. Information literacy classes are becoming common on college campuses to help first year students learn information search skills necessary for higher education. Free speech debates on some college campuses have bred a level of student activism not seen since the 1960s. Academic librarians can play a key role to educate students in First Year Information Literacy (FYIL) classes with a social justice context inclusive of race, gender and free speech…. [PDF]