I
have recently spoken several times on my concerns with free speech on campus.
There
has been lots to say in opposition to reports of crack-downs on speech.
But
today, I would also like to give one shining example of a college upholding
free expression on campus.
Started
by former University of Chicago President Robert Zimmer, the institution has
consistently pushed back on the trend of “safe spaces,” “trigger warnings,” and
the cancelation of invited speakers.
Instead,
in a letter to all incoming freshmen, the university lays out its philosophy in
plain English.
In
the letter to the 2020 freshman class, it said that one of the university’s
“defining characteristics is our commitment to freedom of inquiry and
expression.”
This
is more than just words; the university has consistently followed through.
Even
today, the university is still open to dissenting points of view.
It
even goes so far as to tell freshmen “at times this may challenge you and even
cause discomfort.”
They
are absolutely right, the point of college is not to be coddled. It’s to learn.
How
can students do that if they don’t step out of their comfort zones?
I
often say the definition of a university is a place where controversy should
run rampant.
At
the University Chicago, that means noting that “diversity of opinion and
background is a fundamental strength of our community.”
Both
opinion and background are important, and it defeats the point to just have the
one.
Our
universities cannot have just a veneer of diversity.
The
whole point of bringing in students of different backgrounds is to get
different points of view.
That
aim is meaningless if all students who go to a college believe the same things.
I
have introduced several bills to provide transparency for prospective students.
My
bills focus on transparency of cost, but in many ways openness about a
university’s values are just as important.
I
congratulate Zimmer for doing just that and putting his university’s values on
its sleeve.
If
some schools keep cracking down on free speech and invited speakers then the
free market will send their students elsewhere.
That’s
because I don’t think all kids want to go to a school where they will never be
challenged and where their ideas will always be re-affirmed.
I
am happy to see projects like the University of Austin – a newly founded
college dedicated to free speech principles.
But
it takes time to start these new institutions.
Instead,
we need people to stand up in the colleges we already have.
