A101 Team Protecting free speech on college campuses is not a Republican vs. Democrat issue – it’s bigger than that. Want proof?
Hear a passionate defense of the First Amendment on campus from President Obama’s former right-hand man, David Axelrod:
It has happened across the country, at small private colleges and large public universities: an invited guest is heckled or shouted down or disinvited because of opposing political views.
And the incident is followed by a competing chorus of accusations about the rights of free speech versus the need to feel safe and welcome.
It’s something those in higher education have grappled with for decades. But after the 2016 presidential election and the increasing polarization of the country, the issue has taken on a new resonance.
Part of the problem, said David Axelrod, former chief strategist and senior adviser for President Barack Obama and director of the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics, is that students now often come to college having rarely — or never — interacted with someone with a different opinion or lifestyle. …
For Mr. Axelrod, the more informed and active students are, the more they understand the words of Van Jones, the news commentator who spoke at the institute.
“He said: ‘We owe it to you to keep you from physical harm, but we don’t owe it to you to keep you from ideas you find abhorrent. We want you to be strong not safe. Because the world is going to demand that you be strong.’”
Read the full article at the New York Times.
