The Glover Gate at American University, reading "The American University"

Suppressed Student Speech at American University

BY THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY AAUP CHAPTER The following statement was issued January 29, 2024. In 2022, American University reaffirmed its commitment to freedom of expression, stating in relevant part: When we engage in inquiry, we may have to confront truths that are unpleasant and ideas and perspectives with which we disagree or even find loathsome. When we…

Indiana state flag with blue background and golden torch surrounded by golden stars appears over a white backgrouns in distorted form, suggesting an incomplete or erased image of the flag with jagged edges

In Defense of Abdulkader Sinno

By JOHN K. WILSON In a breathtaking assault on academic freedom, Indiana University has suspended Abdulkader Sinno, an associate professor of political science and Middle Eastern studies, for the crime of reserving a room for a speech that the administration (in direct violation of the First Amendment) attempted to ban. Sinno reserved a room for…

A microphone in focus in front of a podium that holds a phone, a sheet of paper, a closed notepad, and a pen

What Those College Presidents Should Have Said

BY MARJORIE HEINS The disastrous December 5 congressional hearing in which three university presidents were lambasted for allegedly not dealing with antisemitism on campus was a political ambush from the start, and the presidents, instead of blandly acquiescing in some outrageously inappropriate questioning, needed to respond with righteous indignation. The tone was set early on…

Watching Fascism in Real Time

BY JENNIFER RUTH I think he meant “scalped.” Right-wing activist Chris Rufo posted “SCAPLED: Harvard President Claudine Gay Resigns” on X at 10 am today. He then reposted someone saying, “Claudine Gay’s is a huge scalp. No doubt about it. Especially when combined with Liz Magill’s a week ago. But we cannot rest on our…

A person in a red jacket holding a Palestinian flag

Demonizing Dissent

BY KEVIN HOWLEY In recent weeks, college students across the country have raised their voices in support of the Palestinian people, whose collective punishment at the hands of the Israeli government and their enablers in the United States and across Western Europe is both shameful and horrific. For conservative culture warriors, pro-Palestinian demonstrations on college…

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Reply to John Wilson’s Critique of the Princeton Principles for a Campus Culture of Free Inquiry

BY DONALD A. DOWNS In late August, John Wilson posted a critique of the recently published Princeton Principles for a Campus Culture of Free Inquiry. I have long respected Wilson’s views on higher education. In this case, however, I find his critiques misplaced. The Principles’ authors had two main objectives: garnering support for the Principles…

Green street sign reading "Welcome to Princeton" against a background of off-focus trees

The Problems with the Princeton Principles

BY JOHN K. WILSON Written by a who’s who of conservative and centrist campus free speech advocates—including Donald Downs, Robert George, Alan Charles Kors, Greg Lukianoff, John Tomasi, and Keith Whittington—the Princeton Principles for a Campus Culture of Free Inquiry released this month follow in the wake of the Chicago Principles, saying they “affirm this…