Students must come together to support free speech
With students across the nation back for the spring semester, threats to free speech and expression at our sanctuaries of higher education will once again dominate headlines. Since October 7, two presidents of Ivy League's were ousted, primarily because of their positions on speech, many campuses have reformed their policies, tightening campus speech, and tensions in the Middle East continue to exacerbate. All this culminates in a touchy time for administrators, who scared of controversy and blowback, make the state of students' rights incredibly fragile.
Universities, now more than ever must embrace students' right to speak, but with administrators' interests vested in calm and order, students need to take a firm stand in support of their peer's rights—especially those they oppose. Universities are institutions of learning, discourse, and free expression. If any perspective is shut down, this mission is voided. Free expression means free expression.
Many students may feel uncomfortable, angry, and anxious about views expressed by their peers. Hate is scary and certainly not absent from our political culture. Some views are repulsive and hateful, but it is dangerous for us to silence them for our comfort. Hate is like a phone call. When the phone rings you can silence it, but the call is still there. You may not hear it, but it is still calling and will keep calling back. The only way to stop the ringing is to answer.
The most effective way to take power from speech you don't like is by disagreeing with it. If it isn't said you can't argue against it. A protest that gets shut down doesn’t somehow reverse the passions of the protesters. When an article gets censored, the ideas of the author are not erased. Censorship does the opposite. It makes protesters more passionate. It makes writers push their ideas harder. And worst of all, it doesn't give the speaker, or those who are listening, the opportunity to hear why they’re wrong.
Some students may feel unsafe because of what others say. These feelings are valid. But feeling safe does not make you safe. Silencing a viewpoint that you find hateful and dangerous puts you more at risk. How do you know who is hateful if they cannot speak? How will you disagree with someone if they can’t expose their views? If a person hates you, wouldn’t you want to know?
While universities have a responsibility to their students to protect their safety and comfort, it does not supersede their responsibility to uphold students' rights. If a campus demonstration could turn violent, the answer is not to prevent it, but to secure it. Universities must make it safe to protest, safe to speak, and safe to disagree.
You may support Israel. You may oppose Israel. You may disagree with my characterization of things, or you can agree with them. But if you oppose the principle of free expression, you cannot. You cannot agree or disagree with anything, because you’ve lost your right. When those who you oppose lose their right to speak, so do you. When they have power, and they will, why should they let you speak? Beware.