Dive Brief:
- The University of Wisconsin system board near-unanimously approved a resolution Friday saying its universities should not shield individuals from ideas or opinions they find unwelcome, disagreeable, or offensive.
- The Capital Times reports some regents felt the resolution came out of nowhere and seemed to address a problem the system did not have, though Board president Regina Millner said the resolution mirrored previous ones that held up freedom of expression and the latest resolution was particularly necessary since the state's 2015-16 budget stripped tenure protections from law.
- Student protesters said the resolution would encourage hate speech, though it and others like it across the country have attempted to push back against a perceived "coddling" of today's students who do not want to be made uncomfortable for any reason, intellectually valid or not.
Dive Insight:
UW Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank wrote in her blog last month that individuals are free to express beliefs, but not in a way that diminishes or devalues others. She took fire from some who thought she was limiting free speech. Many administrators across the country have toed the line when responding to protesters who claim to be marginalized on campuses, keeping the more extreme free speech supporters in mind. Yale was one of the first campuses to be submerged in the latest wave of protests when the associate master of one of the school's residential colleges emailed students in response to a pre-emptive suggestion to be respectful with Halloween costume choices.
Free speech is always watched closely on college campuses because of the ideals of academic freedom. But colleges are still sorting out where to draw the line between free speech and hate speech.