(This conversation originally aired on November 15, 2017.)
A student is suspended from the University of Tulsa for statements his husband made on Facebook; posters advertising “Straight Pride Week” ordered removed from bulletin boards at Youngstown State University. A law professor is asked to resign when she wears blackface to a Halloween party, to promote a conversation about race. Today on Midday, a conversation about free speech on college campuses. Are trigger warnings and safe spaces in higher education stifling intellectual thought and violating the first amendment or creating intellectually diverse and inclusive campuses?
Sigal Ben Porath is a Professor of Education, philosophy and political science at the University of Pennsylvania. She’s the author of several books including her latest, Free Speech on Campus.
Eugene Volokh is the co-founder and lead blogger for The Volokh Conspiracy, a legal blog formerly hosted by the Washington Post, now hosted by Reason.com. He also a law professor who teaches about free speech at UCLA School of Law.
Will Creeley is the Senior Vice President of Legal and Public Advocacy for FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.
We also hear from Cameron Okeke, a research assistant with The Urban Institute. He was a recent graduate of the University of Chicago when the Dean of Students issued a warning to students against safe spaces and trigger warnings in Fall 2016. Cameron wrote about his reaction to the letter in Vox.com I’m a black UChicago graduate. Safe spaces got me through college.
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