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University News

 BU to Host Events to Shape Free Speech Policy, Starting Thursday

“Universities hold a special place in how issues of free speech play out in our national level discourse,” provost says

Amid an ongoing nationwide debate about how colleges and universities handle free speech on their campuses and potentially controversial and divisive speakers, the Office of the Provost will host a series of five Free Speech Community Conversations as it works to develop an institutional statement and policies for the University regarding free speech on campus. The first, Free Speech, Academic Freedom, and an Inclusive Campus, is scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, September 5, from 3 to 4:30 pm at Mugar Memorial Library.

The events (find a complete schedule below) are part of a broader strategy announced in February by Robert A. Brown, University president, who established two committees, one to develop a statement affirming the University’s commitment to free speech, a second to review and revise existing policies and practices on campus related to free expression.

“I am an adamant believer, and this has been shown throughout history in every single decision made by the courts, that when universities work to limit or curtail free speech, even with the best interests of people at heart, they are never supported legally,” says Jean Morrison, University provost and chief academic officer. “The reason is that when we put in place constraints on speech, the question becomes, well, who decides? The very moment you give anyone that capacity to stifle speech is a corrupting capacity, and it can be used to achieve the very result that our commitment to free speech is meant to prevent.”

In a letter to the BU community in February, Brown wrote: “Freedom of expression is a foundational guiding principle for an enduring democracy; it is both a check on power and a means to foster robust discourse. American higher education has benefited profoundly from strong constitutional protections that have provided our campuses with unmatched scope for intellectual inquiry and an environment where ideas can be tested and sharpened in an atmosphere of serious but collegial debate.”

But what happens when debate turns ugly? Morrison acknowledges that the political climate over the last decade has influenced the conversation now unfolding at BU.  

“Over the course of the last 10 years or so, a new set of questions has arisen about how we have traditionally thought about free speech,” she says. “The basic principle of free speech is that we protect free speech no matter how repulsive or revolting that speech may be, with the underlying principle that it must come with more discussion, more understanding, rather than attempts to quash that speech.”

A 2017 Brookings survey found that nearly one-fifth of American undergraduate students endorse violence to silence a campus speaker known “for making offensive and hurtful statements.” While BU has remained relatively protest-free in recent years, other schools, including Middlebury College, Essex County College in New Jersey, Lewis & Clark Law School in Oregon, and the University of Tampa, have all had dustups or protests that resulted in professors being fired, speeches being interrupted, or melees breaking out.

Hate speech in particular, Morrison says, requires a more sophisticated understanding: “It comes at a cost, particularly to the most vulnerable members of the community, when it’s directed at them.”

The political polarization in the country was one factor in Brown’s decision to be proactive, rather than reactive, in outlining the University’s broader free speech approach. “The commitment to free speech is tested,” he wrote in his February letter. “As we observe events both on campuses and in the broader society, I believe it is reasonable to suggest we are in such a time.”

Morrison echoes that.

“Universities hold a special place in how issues of free speech play out in our national level discourse,” she says. “They have had a kind of intellectual independence. That has meant that how we think about, and play out, free speech on campuses is therefore really critical. Universities are a place where free speech is particularly valued. It’s important we get it right.”

The community conversations are the starting point.

“By holding these events, we want to hear from the community about how people are thinking about these issues,” the provost adds. “Free speech is not an issue that we’ve solved. It is core to our functioning. And it’s just timely to do so.”

Free Speech, Academic Freedom, and an Inclusive Campus is Thursday, September 5, from 3 to 4:30 pm in the Mugar Memorial Library Reserve Room, 771 Commonwealth Ave., first floor, and Tuesday, September 10, from 3 to 4:30 pm at the Medical Campus Keefer Auditorium, 72 East Concord St., E Building. Panelists on September 5 will be Jean Morrison, Kenneth Elmore (Wheelock’87), associate provost and dean of students, Crystal Williams, associate provost for diversity and inclusion, and Erika Geetter, vice president and general counsel in the Office of the General Counsel. Panelists at the September 10 conversation will be Kenneth Elmore, Erika Geeter, and Rebecca Ginzburg, associate general counsel. 

Free Speech: Students’ Rights and Responsibilities is Wednesday, September 25, from 3 to 4:30 pm, in the George Sherman Union Conference Auditorium, 775  Commonwealth Ave., second floor. Panelists will be Kenneth Elmore, Brother Larry Whitney (STH’09,’18), University chaplain for community life, Jay Wexler, a School of Law professor, and Kim Randall, Equal Opportunity office executive director and Title IX coordinator. IX.

Free Speech: Invited Speakers and Third Parties is Wednesday, October 2, from 3:30 to 5 pm in the Mugar Memorial Library Reserve Room, 771 Commonwealth Ave., first floor. Panelists will be Kenneth Elmore, Rebecca Ginzburg, and Shane Cutler, Events & Conferences general manager.

Free Speech: Faculty Rights and Responsibilities is Wednesday, October 16, from 9 to 10:30 am in the Metcalf Trustee Ballroom, One Silber Way, ninth floor. Panelists will be Jean Morrison, Jay Wexler, Maureen O’Rourke, associate provost for faculty affairs and former LAW dean, and Aldo Leone, a Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine professor of periodontology and associate dean for academic affairs, and Faculty Council chair.

Find more information about the community conversations and RSVP here.