I have spoken many times about the importance of our
First Amendment freedom of speech.
Our commitment to the open discussion of ideas is one
reason why America has been successful.
Unfortunately, it’s become increasingly difficult to have
these conversations in our universities.
It seems like every week we hear new stories about
speakers being shouted down or new limits on academic freedom.
That’s why alumni need to speak up.
Anyone who sees a radically different school than they
graduated from needs to be willing to say so.
Today, I would like to highlight the work of organizations
like the Alumni Free Speech Alliance.
This group was created by graduates of several colleges
who noticed that their alma maters were becoming more hostile to freedom of
speech.
The Alumni Free Speech Alliance partnered with
organizations of alumni at each of their former colleges to pool their
resources.
By working with those who support open discourse, they
hope to make it easier to create these alumni groups at more colleges and grow
the ones that exist.
They are right that alumni are often best suited to speak
out about illiberalism on campus.
It is understandably hard for students and faculty to
speak out about the atmosphere of intolerance they live and work in.
But alumni can
have an outsized voice.
This is one reason why I recently joined the Senate
Campus Free Speech Caucus.
This caucus aims to bring together members who are
interested in defending the rights of students on college campuses.
In addition, I was proud to co-sponsor the Campus Free
Speech Resolution, which urges greater First Amendment protection at public
universities.
Just as with private alumni, senators need to be willing
to speak out and shine a light when students’ rights are being infringed.
I’ve heard countless examples of universities putting an
emphasis on superficial definitions of diversity that focus only on physical
characteristics.
The benefit of having people from different backgrounds
is that they bring different viewpoints.
But that whole concept of diversity is turned on its head
if only one point of view is ever allowed to be spoken.
Universities do a disservice to their students if they
just tamp down any idea that their loudest activists disagree with.
Colleges should be a place of debate and discussion, not
enforced intellectual rigidity.
Alumni need to be willing to speak out about these
issues.
