While no doubt there remains room for improvement Campus Reform is reporting that “A new study from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) has found that the number of schools maintaining restrictive policies on student expression has hit an all-time low.”
This is good news for those of us that still believe in free speech and for conservative organizations who wish to express their views.
“The organization’s annual Spotlight on Speech Codes report found that the number of overall schools with a “red light” rating fell to 13.2 percent, while just 9.8 percent of public schools earned the designation.”
This is surprising yet good news for the country and shows what having a President who believes in free speech can do.
These numbers while still not perfect are a far cry from the days the “group’s first study published in 2006, 68.6 percent of schools earned red light ratings.”
The original number was pathetic if unsurprising but the new numbers are shocking!
“Conversely, schools with a “green light” rating have policies that “do not seriously threaten protected expression.” This year’s report found that a total of 76 schools earned such a rating, the second time that they have outnumbered ones with a red light rating.”
“The report also found that many schools have adopted policies explicitly protecting free speech. A total of 120 administrations and faculty bodies adopted policies similar to the “Report of the Committee on Freedom of Expression,” which was adopted at the University of Chicago in 2015 following “events nationwide that have tested institutional commitments to free and open discourse.”
This should not have been needed as schools should be inherently conducive to free speech but at least we have come a long way in this regard.
As the study’s author Ryan Ansloan pointed out “Pressure from many state legislatures, as well as the reelection of Donald Trump and subsequent federal investigations, lawsuits, and shifts in research funding, have prompted internal review at many schools,” he continued. “We hope this will translate to taking the side of free speech when controversies arise.”
One can only hope he’s right about this and that schools will side with freedom of speech.
The Foundation cited The Foundation For Individual Rights and Expression as been in the forefront of fighting for free speech in a den of censorship.
This effort to uphold the rights of students is not over or solved but thanks to President Trump and conservative free speech organizations there has been much progress on this issue.
The culture is changing and the right has made gains lets not lose those gains but continue to champion free speech and the cause of freedom overall.
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