Speaking of our professoriate. . .

Terry Eastland, in the Washington Times, reports on a letter sent to colleges and universities by the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights that attempts to dissuade our academic institutions from suppressing free speech. Hundreds of colleges and universities have policies and/or codes that restrict protected First Amendment expression. Some colleges defend this practice by claiming that the government requires it as a condition of receiving federal funds. The Education Department’s letter strips away this pretext. More broadly, the Department hopes to stimulate a rethinking in higher education about “whether the kind of intellectual engagement that every self-respecting university says it wants to promote is compatible with restrictions on [constitutionally protected] speech.” See the post below linking Peter Wood’s piece to ascertain the likelihood that any such rethinking will occur.

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