Academic Freedom in an Age of Political Polarization

BY HANK REICHMAN Yesterday I had the privilege and pleasure of participating in a terrific panel discussion of “Academic Freedom in an Age of Political Polarization” at the Albert Shanker Institute in Washington, D.C.  My fellow panelists were Sigal Ben-Porath, Professor of Education, Political Science and Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania and author of…

How to Oppose Anti-Semitism and the Chikindas Case

BY JOHN K. WILSON Last month, Northwestern law professor Steven Lubet wrote an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune responding in part to my post defending the rights of Rutgers professor Michael Chikindas. I think Lubet makes two fundamental errors: First, he says anti-Semitic imagery is an act of instigating violence. Second, he argues that administrative…

The AAUP Responds to Breitbart’s Distortion

BY MARIAH QUINN An article from Breitbart yesterday offers us a timely look at how targeted harassment happens and how it is perpetuated. The misrepresentations start in the headline. The piece, “American Association of University Professors Defends Prof Who Called for the Death of Congressman Scalise,” focused on the work the AAUP is doing to…

Wisconsin Supreme Court to Hear McAdams v. Marquette

BY JOHN K. WILSON Today, the Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal of John McAdams in his lawsuit against Marquette University. Marquette suspended McAdams because he posted a criticism of graduate student instructor Cheryl Abbate on his personal blog, Marquette Warrior. Marquette issued a statement today: Marquette University welcomes yet another chance to…

Why We Have Free Speech on University Campuses, and Why I Will Never Take a Call From the Stanford Review Again

BY DAVID PALUMBO-LIU This essay by Stanford professor David Palumbo-Liu originally was published in the Stanford Daily. As anyone who has carefully read the U.S. Constitution knows, the right to free speech is a negative freedom — it protects us from any attempt by our government to stifle the expression of our ideas. The underlying…