The October 14th edition of the Economist described the sorry state of Freedom of Speech on America’s campuses. We should recognize that unless this intolerance is not stopped, America facing a significant curbing not only of our ability to hear divergent viewpoints but undermine our democracy.
At William and Mary, the alma mater of Thomas Jefferson, students prevented Claire Gastannago from speaking. The students chanted “Liberalism is white supremacy. The revolution will not uphold the constitution.” The American Civil Liberties Union, who had supported Ms. Gastannago right to speak, were defeated.
Students at Oberlin revolted over insufficiently authentic Asian cuisine, equating it to “cultural appropriation.” After the campus newspaper at Wesleyan University published an article critical of Black Lives Matter, students tried to defund the paper for failing to create a “safe space.”
Students have tried to prevent Joe Biden, Condoleezza Rice and Christine Lagarde from speaking.
The Economist views the rejection of free speech as a real problem. A survey of 3,000 college students by Gallup found that 78% favor campuses where offensive and biased speech is permitted. Illiberal tendencies are limited to about 20% of college students. These 20% think that is acceptable to use violence to prevent a “very controversial speaker” from speaking according to Brookings Institution.
At Yale University 42% of students feel uncomfortable giving their opinions on politics, race, religion, and gender.
University administrators often find the easiest way is to placate the intolerant 20%. Student activists are demanding that administrators interfere with teaching, asking for mandatory ethnic-studies classes, the hiring of non-white or gay faculty and ability to lodge complaints against professors for biased conduct in the classroom.
Security at Berkley for Ben Shapiro, a conservative speaker, cost the university $600,000. Free Speech Week” at Berkley was expected to run $1 million dollars.
Racism seems to prevail in every aspect of American lives. We recently learned that a mother felt that her daughter who had cancer was mistreated by the hospital because of her race. President Trump who read from a prepared text the name of Sgt La David Johnson’s name who was killed in Niger has become front page news. Black Lives matter is acceptable, but one can never say White Lives matter.
I went to college during the Vietnam War. We now know that questioning our participation in the Vietnam War was the right course of action. The National Guard killed students at Kent State over their protests. During World War I the government would have arrested protesting students, accusing them of treason. Over time the Supreme Court has embraced freedom of speech. That said, a 20% minority appears by force to undermine these freedom privileges.
Anti-Semitism is rising on American college campuses, especially if you wear a yarmulke or show pro-Zionist sympathies. A study by Trinity College found that over half of Jewish college students have experienced anti-Semitism on their campus.
