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The Current Controversies series examines today’s most F
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important social and political issues. Each volume e
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presents a diverse selection of primary sources o
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representing all sides of the debate in question.
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“These are excellent resources for research or debate
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that will rouse students interested in contemporary e
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and controversial topics.”—Booklist
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Freedom of Speech
on Campus
Other Books in the Current
Controversies Series
Are There Two Americas?
The Confederate Flag
Deporting Immigrants
The Energy Industry
Enhanced Interrogation and Torture
Executive Orders
Microaggressions, Safe Spaces, and Trigger Warnings
Police Training and Excessive Force
Political Extremism in the United States
States’ Rights and the Role of the Federal Government
Universal Health Care
Freedom of Speech
on Campus
Eamon Doyle, Book Editor
Published in 2019 by Greenhaven Publishing, LLC
353 3rd Avenue, Suite 255, New York, NY 10010
Copyright © 2019 by Greenhaven Publishing, LLC
First Edition
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form
without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer.
Articles in Greenhaven Publishing anthologies are often edited for length to meet page
requirements. In addition, original titles of these works are changed to clearly present
the main thesis and to explicitly indicate the author’s opinion. Every effort is made to
ensure that Greenhaven Publishing accurately reflects the original intent of the authors.
Every effort has been made to trace the owners of the copyrighted material.
Cover image: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Doyle, Eamon, editor.
Title: Freedom of speech on campus / Eamon Doyle, Editor.
Description: New York : Greenhaven Publishing, 2018. | Series: Current
controversies | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Audience: Grades 9–12.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018001056| ISBN 9781534503076 (library bound) | ISBN
9781534503083 (pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: Freedom of speech—United States—Juvenile literature. |
College students—Legal status, laws, etc.—United States—Juvenile
literature. | College students—Civil rights—United States—Juvenile
literature.
Classification: LCC KF4772 .F7435 2018 | DDC 323.44/30973—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018001056
Manufactured in the United States of America
Website: http://greenhavenpublishing.com
Contents
Foreword 11
Introduction 14
Chapter 1: Are University Campuses Biased
Against Conservative Viewpoints?
The University Campus Has Been an Emblem of the 19
Liberal-Conservative Divide Since the Student Protests
of the 1960s
Colin Barker
Since the Vietnam War and the student protests of the 1960s, the
university campus has functioned as an emblem of the liberal-
conservative and rural-urban divisions in American culture.
Yes: University Campuses Threaten Free Speech Through Bias
Against Conservative Viewpoints
There Is an Increasingly Pronounced Pattern of Hostility 26
Toward Free Speech on American College Campuses
Nat Hentoff
Recent examples of free speech–related conflicts illustrate an
increasingly pronounced pattern of active hostility toward free
speech on college campuses.
Intellectual Arguments That Question the Viability 29
and Value of Free Speech Do Not Hold Up
Daniel Jacobson
Intellectual arguments that question the viability and value of free
speech do not hold up and represent a threat to the classical liberal
values that have shaped modern democracy.
Liberal Academics Create an Environment Hostile to 38
Conservative Viewpoints
Nancy Thorner and Bonnie O’Neil
Only a small percentage of academics identify as conservative, and
professors encourage students to adopt their own liberal perspective
on important issues. This has created an environment on campus that
is hostile to conservative viewpoints and, by extension, to free speech
rights in general.
Current Attitudes About Free Speech on Campus 46
Conflict with the First Amendment Constitutional
Protections
Candice Lanier
Examples like Florida Atlantic University’s “Free Speech and Campus
Civility” policy illustrate how current attitudes about free speech on
campus conflict with the constitutional protections offered by the
First Amendment.
No: Conservative Anxieties About Liberal-Dominated
Campuses Are Overblown
The Conservative Prescription for Action Against 50
“Liberal” Universities Is Destructive and Unnecessarily
Political
Nicole Hemmer
Resentful, antagonistic attitudes toward college campus culture have
long played a role in modern conservatism. There may be some
merit to conservatives’ concerns, but their prescription for action is
destructive and unnecessarily political.
Conservatives Who Dislike Campus Culture Should 59
Respond with Rational Arguments Rather than
Provocations
Spencer Grady-Pawl
Conservatives who dislike campus culture should focus more on
standing up for free speech with reasonable, rational arguments
rather than demonizing and provoking liberals.
Chapter 2: Should First Amendment
Protections Extend to All Speech?
The First Amendment’s Protections and Limitations 63
Lumen Learning
Free speech absolutists contend that First Amendment protections
should be construed as broadly as possible and should extend
to all speech, no matter how offensive or odious. Some critics
question the wisdom of free speech absolutism when it comes to
hate speech, emphasizing its impact on marginalized groups. They
argue that communities like college campuses should have the right
to suppress speech that is deemed offensive to the cultural identity
of its members as a means of protecting them from the impact of
prejudice.
Yes: Free Speech Rights Must Be Absolute
Free Speech Rights Are Critical from a Legal and Civil 69
Liberties Perspective
Anthony D. Romero
Free speech rights are so critical from a legal and civil liberties
perspective that organizations like the ACLU, which publicly and
unequivocally rejects racist and white supremacist ideology, have
rightly defended the free speech rights of Nazis and the Ku Klux
Klan.
Limitations on Free Speech in Academia Are 73
Potentially Destructive
Robert Jensen
The life of Scott Nearing, an early twentieth-century American
teacher and writer, exemplifies the potential destructiveness of limits
on free speech in an academic setting.
No: Some Types of Speech Need to Be Restricted
Some Hateful and Subversive Speech Threatens 80
Civil Society
Traci Yoder
Part of maintaining a civil, well-ordered culture involves enforcing
certain norms of behavior and conversation. Some types of hateful or
subversive speech represent a threat to our civil order and should be
suppressed.
Hate Speech Is Symptomatic of Toxic Underlying 83
Social Dynamics That Can Lead to Violence
Elizabeth Dovell
Hate speech is often symptomatic of toxic underlying social dynamics
(such as racism, homophobia, and bigotry) that, left unaddressed,
can lead to violence or even genocide.
Chapter 3: Does Some Hate Speech
Qualify as a Type of Violence?
Arguments For and Against the Criminalization of 87
Hate Speech
Joyce Arthur and Peter Tatchell
Liberal critical theorists have advocated for a more diffuse conception
of cultural oppression, introducing concepts like microaggressions.
Students at a number of institutions have demanded various new
protections, including “safe spaces” and “trigger warnings.” In
response, free speech absolutists have decried political correctness
run amok, portraying college campuses as a liberal assault on free
speech.
Yes: The Trauma That Hostile Words Inflict on Marginalized
Groups Can Qualify as Violence
The Distinction Between Physical and Emotional 93
Harm Is Arbitrary and Unhelpful
Aaron Moritz
There is no significant difference between types of harm, and
attempting to find them ignores the issue at hand. Hate speech is a
type of violence and we should be able to regulate it the same way
that we regulate other violent crimes.
Free Speech Restrictions Reflect a Stronger 103
Understanding of Free Speech’s Historical Dangers
Barrett Holmes Pitner
The United States can learn something from countries like Canada
and Germany, whose free speech restrictions reflect a stronger
understanding of the historical dangers of certain types of free
speech.
No: The Distinction Between Speech and Physical Violence
Supports Free Expression
No Matter How Unwelcome, Sexually Explicit Speech 107
Is Not Sexual Assault
Nadine Strossen and Tom Patterson
The tendency for universities to treat all types of sexually themed
expression, including speech that is not targeted at a particular
individual, as sexual harassment threatens important academic
discourse and distracts from the pressing issues of sexual assault and
violence. Teaching students how to distinguish between offensive
speech and actual violence and how to engage in discourses that may
contain offensive viewpoints is essential to the future protection of
free speech.
Words Are Not Equal to Violence 117
Josh Craddock
Intellectual challenges to the distinction between speech and
violence, currently prevalent among academics who subscribe to
Judith Butler, involve a radical and unmerited expansion of the
respective definitions of “stress,” “power,” and “violence.”
Chapter 4: Should Speech on Campus Be
Regulated More Than Other Public Speech?
The Conflict Between Free Speech Absolutists and 122
Skeptics Has Reached Its Peak
Mary Ellen Flannery
The conflict between free speech absolutists and skeptics has
reached a fever pitch and, given the complexity and sensitivity of the
issues involved, it may be necessary to create some type of national
task force to examine issues of free speech, discrimination, and
harassment on campus.
Yes: Restrictions on Offensive Speech May Help Universities
Create a Positive Atmosphere of Free Inquiry
Universities Should Be Able to Enforce Speech Norms 126
to Maintain the Stability of Their Community
Scott Bomboy
Universities should be able to enforce certain speech norms to
maintain the stability of their community, which is composed of
individuals from all types of cultural and economic backgrounds.
Certain Restrictions on Speech Can Support Feelings 129
of Safety and Acceptance for Marginalized Groups
PEN America
The US Department of Education’s current policies on harassment
and offensive speech exemplify how certain restrictions on speech
can support minority groups and other vulnerable persons’ feelings
of safety and acceptance within a community.
