National Free Speech News & Commentary

Bret Stephens
New York Times

Excerpt: As college students return to campus, this is what I hope a university president might say to them about how their school intends to handle future protests.

Virginia King
The College Fix

Excerpt: An open letter that opposes the American Association of University Professors’ new position to support academic boycotts quickly gained over 1,000 signatures from scholars and faculty upset by the recent decision.

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Ron Krebs and Cary Nelson
Petition

On Friday, August 9, 2024, the American Association of University Professors, which has long eloquently defended the core principle of academic freedom, reversed course and declared academic boycotts legitimate.

We believe the AAUP’s new position is wrong-headed and dangerous. We cannot safeguard academic freedom by violating academic freedom. Normalizing academic boycotts poses a profound threat to academic freedom.

Talia Barnes
Foundation for Individual Rights in Expression

Excerpt: In an August 14 letter to the campus community, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik announced her resignation after serving in the role for just over 13 months. She referred to “a period of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome divergent views across our community” and “tension, division, and politicization” that has “disrupted our campus over the last year.”

Mitch Daniels
Washington Post

Excerpt: Dan Patrick’s sports radio talk show, which I regard as the country’s best, winds up its daily program with a segment called “What did we learn?” As America’s colleges return to work for the fall semester, after anti-Israel protests in the spring dealt yet another blow to their fading reputations and attractiveness, they should be asking themselves that question in earnest. After decades of money pouring in and smug self-satisfaction, the answer won’t come easily.

Jonathan Turley
Jonathan Turley's Blog

Excerpt: Eighty years ago, the U.S. government launched a war bond campaign featuring a painting by artist Norman Rockwell in the struggle against the authoritarian threat from Europe. The picture they chose was Rockwell’s Freedom of Speech depicting a man rising to speak his mind at a local council meeting in Vermont. The image rallied the nation around what Louis Brandeis called our “indispensable right.”