POSTED BY THE AAUP

Last week, the AAUP shared a new toolkit of resources about legislation on campus free speech. Media scrutiny has blown the issue of free speech on campus out of proportion relative to more widespread and urgent problems in higher education. Bills purporting to protect free speech on campus would have the effect of interfering with and undermining the institutional autonomy of public colleges and universities.

Most of the campus free-speech legislation being introduced in state legislatures today is drafted from model bills produced by the Goldwater Institute, a conservative think tank. The focus of the proposed bills tends to be punitive, with mandated penalties—such as expulsion or lengthy suspension—for students who interrupt a speaker. Such unnecessary legislation creates a litigious atmosphere and threatens to silence dissent.

The AAUP toolkit includes a primer on the issue, five actions you can take, and a phone script and talking points for calling legislators. You can find them at https://onefacultyoneresistance.org/featured-campaigns/freespeech/. Sources for the toolkit include a recent report, approved by the AAUP’s Committee on Government Relations, Campus Free-Speech Legislation: History, Progress, and Problems.

AAUP political organizer Monica Owens held a Facebook Live event providing an overview of the toolkit. You can watch a video of the event on our Facebook page.

Photo courtesy of University of Chicago Graduate Students United.