The Battle Over Free Speech on College Campuses

In 2015 The Atlantic, Salon, The New York Times, and The Washington Post all published pieces about the complex balance between free speech and political correctness on college campuses. This was a pivotal year for this discussion across the country and at the University of Chicago—leaving Americans wondering: How did we get here? Is the First Amendment under attack? Where do you draw the line, if any, between First Amendment rights and offensive speech? Are speech codes and safe spaces needed on campuses? And what responsibility do colleges have to create a climate that encourages an open and respectful exchange of ideas?

The IOP welcomed top minds in the country to examine these issues and see how American collegiate experience has evolved on March 9, 2016. Participants included:

- Adrienne Green, Editorial Fellow for The Atlantic

- Aaron Hanlon, Colby College English Professor, Salon and New Republic contributor

- Greg Lukianoff, President and CEO of Freedom for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), author, and coauthor of The Atlantic's “The Coddling of the American Mind”

- Geoffrey Stone, UChicago Law Professor and Chair of the University of Chicago’s Committee on Freedom of Expression

This event was amoderated by George Washington University Law Professor, author of Lessons in Censorship: How Schools and Courts Subvert Students’ First Amendment Rights,and Visiting Scholar at Harvard Graduate School in Education, Catherine Ross. This event was co-sponored by the International House Global Voices Program.

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