As high school students search for a college to attend, a report from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has come up with a list of 10 universities that every student who values free speech should avoid.
Despite the fact that more than 90 per cent of American colleges have so-called “speech codes”, the report looks at the past year’s incidents on campuses and highlights the worst offenders.
This year’s list of the worst higher education institutions for free speech includes many public colleges that are supposed to abide by the Constitution and guarantee freedom of expression. Private colleges, however, while not legally required to do so, have promised to ensure free speech on campus.
FIRE’s worst of the worst list of anti-free speech colleges:
Fordham University
Northern Michigan University
California State University, Los Angeles
University of Oregon
California State University, Long Beach
Harvard University
University of South Carolina
Williams College
Georgetown University
DePaul University
Among the institutions on FIRE’s annual “worst of the worst” list is a university that threatened students with punishment for discussing their own mental health; a prestigious law school which prohibited students from engaging in “partisan political speech on campus” during the US Presidential election; and another school that closed the curtain on a play about diversity due to faculty concerns that it might be too controversial.
Harvard University earned its place on the list after the university president announced a plan to blacklist members of off-campus single-gender organizations such as fraternities, sororities, and others.
Under the plan, students who happen to be blacklisted would be barred from leadership positions on sports teams and student groups. In addition, they wouldn’t be able to receive recommendations from the Dean’s Office for Rhodes and Marshall scholarships.
The list also includes the infamous DePaul University that has made headlines with its disruptions to and outright cancellations of various speaking events. Last April, DePaul’s administration urged people to stop writing partisan messages after some students chalked pro-Trump comments.
In May, the college obstructed an event with Milo Yiannopoulos by limiting his speaking time to 15-20 minutes. DePaul also asked the students to come up with $1,000 for extra security.
After students invaded the stage and and disrupted the event, the “extra security” refused to intervene. A student group tried to re-invite Yiannopoulos, but the college banned them from doing so.
“Colleges continue to find excuses for censoring speech on campus,” said FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff. “This list shows that any expression—even expression as innocuous as a chalk message for a political candidate or a discussion of one’s own health—is seen by some colleges as fair game for suppression. This type of censorship is not only unhealthy for institutions where debate and discussion should be paramount, but also dangerous for a free society.”
