Free Speech on Campus

"At a time when freedom of speech on college campuses is under serious attack, Erwin Chemerinsky and Howard Gillman offer a concise and powerful defense of academic freedom that every college administrator should read."—Geoffrey R. Stone, Edward H. Levi Distinguished Service Professor of Law, The University of Chicago

"A thoughtful and insightful defense both of free speech on American campuses and the need to develop and protect inclusive learning environments, plus lots of good advice for current campus leaders."—Peter McPherson, President, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities

"Erwin Chemerinsky and Howard Gillman have written a concise and valuable history of the evolution of freedom of speech policies and laws in the U.S….A masterful analysis of a cherished American right and a must-read for higher education leaders."— Mary Sue Coleman, President, Association of American Universities

"As free speech conflicts on college campuses seem to arise with ever greater frequency, the need for a top to bottom analysis of how to think about the topic has become all the more urgent. With this book, we finally have it, a subtle yet passionate—and easily readable—overview that should guide all students as well as the rest of us."—Floyd Abrams, author of The Soul of the First Amendment

"Balanced, comprehensive, and authoritative, Free Speech on Campus is a must-read for college administrators, scholars and practitioners of First Amendment law and activists of all political persuasions."—Joan DelFattore, author of Knowledge in the Making:  Academic Freedom and Free Speech in America’s Schools and Universities

A conversation with Erwin Chemerinsky and Howard Gillman:

You argue that "the answer to bad speech is more speech," but what do you say to people who feel hurt and excluded by what others express?
 
Speech unquestionably can cause great harms, including causing emotional distress and making people feel excluded. But no one has devised a way of defining hate speech in a way that does not also threaten speech that is essential to the pursuit of knowledge, the robust exchange of ideas, and the operation of democratic politics within a diverse society.
 
How has the atmosphere at colleges and universities changed with the last presidential election?
 
Our country is polarized. The last election reflected this and intensified the polarization, and we see this on campuses. Most of the resulting campus conversations are exactly what you would expect from people dedicated to understanding and debating important issues. However, in too many cases—including (recently) at Berkeley and Middlebury College—disagreements have taken the form of intimidation, disruption, and violence. This is deeply troubling. Tolerating diverse and controversial views, and working through differences by way of debate and discussion rather than intimidation and violence, are essential to higher education.
 
How are higher education settings different from the public square, in terms of the degree of free speech that should be permitted?
 
Campuses exist for the purpose of teaching and research. Speech is essential to facilitate these crucial tasks. As the legendary president of the University of California, Clark Kerr, famously said, “The University is not engaged in making ideas safe for students. It is engaged in making students safe for ideas.”