A group of college educators launched an organization to allow higher education scholars to express their viewpoints freely, defending their First Amendment rights.
Around 200 people helped form the Academic Freedom Alliance, launched Monday, which seeks to help educators freely publish, teach, and speak without fear of retribution for what they say. Part of the goals of the organization will include providing money for legal support if it’s needed for those whose expressions have come under fire.
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“Members of the Academic Freedom Alliance come from across the political spectrum,” its website reads. “We are united in our commitment to truth-seeking scholarship, and in recognizing that an attack on academic freedom anywhere is an attack on academic freedom everywhere.”
Professors involved in the nonprofit group range in concentrations, as well as who they’ve supported in past presidential campaigns. Some have been public supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders, while others supported former President Donald Trump.
“The AFA seeks to counteract pressures on employers to take actions against employees whose views, statements, or teachings they may disapprove or dislike,” its website continued. “We oppose such pressures from the government, college or university officials, and individuals or groups inside or outside colleges and universities.”
Some of the members of the alliance have previously been involved in free speech controversies, according to the Associated Press. Northwestern University professor Laura Kipnis was slammed by students for writing a 2015 essay, challenging her school’s policy of banning teachers and students from dating each other.
Harvard Professor Steven Pinker, a bestselling linguist, was criticized by members of the Linguistic Society of America in 2011 for perceived insensitivity to racism and sexism.
Keith Whittington, a political science professor at Princeton University and chairman of the committee, said he was honored to lead the organization.
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“To the extent that there are organized efforts to suppress and sanction professors who espouse controversial or unorthodox views, the alliance seeks to counter those pressures,” Whittington told the Associated Press.
Members of the alliance will pay an annual fee of $50 if they’re tenured professors and $35 for others.
