Only 4% of higher ed institutions nationally are free of restrictions on speech and expression.
by James A. Bacon
I’ve chastised my alma mater the University of Virginia on many an occasion over the years but today I can say I’m proud to be a Wahoo. UVa is numbered among a mere four percent of all public colleges and universities in the United States whose written policies do not seriously threaten free speech and expression on campus, according to a new report published by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). Kudos to President Kathleen Sullivan for preserving a truly liberal environment of free expression and free inquiry.
To give credit where credit is due, the College of William & Mary and James Madison University also earned FIRE’s top recognition. Other institutions of higher learning did not fare so well.
Bart Hinkle, columnist for the Times-Dispatch, provides an excellent overview of the study. I whole-heartedly concur with his sentiments and have little to add. Read the column.
FIRE gives three ratings: green, yellow and red. Green indicates policies that allow free expression, yellow indicates policies that restrict narrow categories of speech, and red denotes the existence of at least one policy that “unambiguously” infringes upon protected expression.
Virginia’s public institutions of higher education are among the least restrictive in the country but we can do better. Writes Hinkle:
This year, two Republican delegates — Scott Lingamfelter and Rick Morris — have introduced legislation in Virginia’s General Assembly to restore a modicum of free speech at the state’s colleges and universities. Lingamfelter’s would do away with “free speech zones” that deny free speech outside the zones. Morris’ would grant students facing non-academic disciplinary charges the right to attorney representation. Based on FIRE’s findings, the measures are sorely needed.
