Institute of Politics

The Battle Over Free Speech on College Campuses

In 2015 The Atlantic, Salon, The New York Times, and The Washington Post all published pieces about the complex balance between free speech and political correctness on college campuses. This was a pivotal year for this discussion across the country and at the University of Chicago—leaving Americans wondering: How did we get here? Is the First Amendment under attack? Where do you draw the line, if any, between First Amendment rights and offensive speech? Are speech codes and safe spaces needed on campuses? And what responsibility do colleges have to create a climate that encourages an open and respectful exchange of ideas? Join the Institute of Politics as we welcome the top minds in the country to examine these issues and see how American collegiate experience has evolved. Editorial Fellow for The Atlantic Adrienne Green Colby College English Professor, _Salon and New Republic_ contributor Aaron Hanlon President and CEO of Freedom for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), author, and coauthor of The Atlantic'sThe Coddling of the American MindGreg Lukianoff UChicago Law Professor and Chair of the University of Chicago’s Committee on Freedom of Expression Geoffrey Stone. This event will be moderated by George Washington University Law Professor, author of Lessons in Censorship: How Schools and Courts Subvert Students’ First Amendment Rights, and Visiting Scholar at Harvard Graduate School in Education Catherine Ross. This event is co-sponored by the International House Global Voices Program.

  • Geoffrey Stone Edward H. Levi Distinguished Service Professor of Law, The University of Chicago Law School
  • Adrienne Green Former Managing Editor, The Atlantic
  • Aaron Hanlon Assistant Professor of English, Colby College
  • Greg Lukianoff President, Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
  • Catherine Ross Fred C. Stevenson Research Professor, The George Washington University Law School

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