Let’s Talk About Free Speech

[Commentary] What is the state of the First Amendment on college campuses? In the past year, this question has been one of significant interest to Knight Foundation, and to observers around the country. As a private foundation with its roots in the newspaper business, we have a longstanding commitment to the First Amendment. For this reason, we took note last fall when protests on college campuses over myriad issues spurred a surprising paradox: Protesters — exercising their right to free speech — simultaneously seemed to limit the speech of others through the creation of “safe spaces.” This trend came to a head most dramatically at the University of Missouri last October, when students briefly attempted to ban the press from covering their protest in a public space, before quickly recanting and permitting press access.

What we found was a portrait as complicated as what we imagined, although not in the ways we expected. Among the key findings:
Disagreement on the security of First Amendment freedoms
Principles and practice don’t match up: When it comes to the principles undergirding the First Amendment, college students are generally more ardent than US adults that colleges should expose students to all types of expression and points of view rather than prohibiting biased or offensive speech (78 percent among college students versus 66 percent among US adults).
Social media seen as positive and negative force for expression.

[Sam Gill is vice president for learning and impact at Knight Foundation.]