Commentary: The Skeptics Were Wrong

Greg Lukianoff and Sean Stevens March 12, 2024 1 min read

Greg Lukianoff and Sean Stevens
The Eternally Radical Idea, Substack

Excerpt: Last week, we shared the alarming data coming out of FIRE’s new Campus Deplatforming Database to show just how bad the effects of violent protests and heckler’s vetoes on campus free speech really are. This week, we’ll address the skepticism about the “campus free speech crisis” dating back to 2018.

The crux of the “new dynamic” hypothesis is this: Do we have data supporting the claim that a significant portion of college students have become more hostile toward free speech than previous generations? According to FIRE’s new Campus Deplatforming Database (last updated Feb. 29, 2024), the answer is yes.

Click here for link to full article

Leave a comment

Comments will be approved before showing up.


Also in National Free Speech News & Commentary

The New Chilling Effect: Too many institutions are teaching young people to stay quiet.
The New Chilling Effect: Too many institutions are teaching young people to stay quiet.

By Jacob Blane, Annabelle Garland, and Sam Gross July 23, 2026 1 min read

If you’re looking for a reason to despair over the state of American education, there are many places you could start. Something that deserves more attention is damage to free expression—not in the classroom but in the public sphere of high school: the realms of student newspapers, student government, and other aspects of everyday life. School is meant to prepare students for the real world, but too many institutions are training kids to be silent.

Read More
Extorted Compliance: A Threat to Institutional Autonomy, Academic Freedom, and Shared Governance
Extorted Compliance: A Threat to Institutional Autonomy, Academic Freedom, and Shared Governance

American Association of University Professors  July 23, 2026 1 min read

Higher education in the United States and the faculty members central to its mission are under unprecedented, destructive, and sustained attack, part of a larger assault on democratic governance, civil society, and knowledge itself. 

Read More
DOJ Takes Aim at UC San Diego Med School’s Use of Hardship in Admissions
DOJ Takes Aim at UC San Diego Med School’s Use of Hardship in Admissions

Katherine Knott July 23, 2026 1 min read

The University of California at San Diego’s medical school discriminated on the basis of race in admissions decisions over the course of three cycles, the Justice Department claimed this week. 

Read More