A series of recent controversies helped a higher education watchdog fill out its list of 10 colleges it deemed the worst at protecting freedom of speech.
The Foundation of Individual Rights in Education announced its “10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech” Wednesday, with several colleges recently embroiled in free speech controversies prominently featured on the list.
FIRE listed a mix of public universities such as Boise State University, the University of Florida, and the University of North Carolina, and private universities, such as Stanford University, Georgetown University, and Emerson College.
GEORGETOWN LAW STUDENTS DEMAND SPACE TO CRY
Rounding out the list were the University of Illinois-Chicago, Collin College, Tarleton State University, and Linfield University.
The organization’s president, Greg Lukianoff, said that “each of these colleges had the opportunity to restore the student and faculty voices they censored — but leaders deliberately chose not to do so. … If college leadership is willing to muzzle, censor, and punish their own students and faculty members, the public should know.”
Georgetown University was included on the list days after the university’s law school placed incoming professor Ilya Shapiro on administrative leave for tweeting criticism of President Joe Biden’s pledge to nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court seat vacated by the pending retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer.
“Any university worthy of the name should be capable of using this as a teaching moment about the importance of free expression rather than hiding behind some sham investigation in a feeble attempt to mollify a Twitter mob,” FIRE said about Georgetown’s decision to suspend Shapiro.
Stanford was included for its student government’s failure to fund a lecture by former Vice President Mike Pence, a decision that was eventually reversed but which FIRE said was something that should not have been an issue.
“Stanford’s motto is ‘the wind of freedom blows’ — but lately, that just seems like a lot of stagnant hot air,” the organization said.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The nonprofit group also announced that Yale University had received its dubious award for “Lifetime Censorship,” which the university earned for establishing a yearslong track record of failing to protect student and faculty speech.
