Some conservative lawmakers have sought to pass legislative Band-Aids to the campus free speech crisis in recent years, working on the state level where they enjoy control over most legislatures around the country. It’s a tempting fix, to be sure, especially as incidents have escalated. But the strategy has quietly caused some friction among free speech crusaders.
Case in point: John Hardin, director of university relations for the Charles Koch Foundation, wrote in the New York Times this week to caution against such approaches. Hardin zeroed in on Arizona, where lawmakers have floated or passed proposals that have been controversial among right-leaning proponents of campus free speech. “Just as those who shout down or silence speakers with whom they disagree contribute to the problem, so, too, do efforts by legislators to eliminate particular courses or forms of expression,” he wrote.
