First, Stuart Taylor and Ed Yingling (with Princetonians for Free Speech) got a column published Monday in the Wall Street Journal about the formation of the Alumni Free Speech Alliance. Fox News followed with a story yesterday (seen above). Since then, Inside Higher Ed, the leading higher-ed trade publication, has run a news story of its own.
The response has been fantastic. Yingling has been overwhelmed with inquiries. The number of subscribers to The Jefferson Council blog jumped 50% overnight.
If anyone in Virginia has an interest in starting a university alumni group to address issues centered on free speech and intellectual diversity, check out the Alliance website. Or contact Yingling directly at edyingling[at]comcast.net.
The mission of the Alliance is to advance the objectives of free speech, free expression, and intellectual diversity on college campuses. (That’s free speech for everyone, not just conservatives. We have no interest in replacing one form of intolerance with another.) The goal is to function as an information clearinghouse and to exchange best practices among member organizations.
Everything is done through volunteers, so the organization has limited bandwidth at this time. Still, the Alliance can provide advice on the basics of how to get an alumni free-speech group started.
— JAB
