By Brett Patrick
Free speech and ideological diversity are fundamental pillars of college institutions. Over the years, this is a fact that US presidents recognized. In 1998, President Bill Clinton reaffirmed the basic human right to expression during a speech in China. In 2015, on a back-to-school tour, President Obama reminded students of the importance of campus dialogue. In 2019, President Trump signed an executive order that required colleges to enforce the right of free inquiry if they desired specific federal grants.
But free speech has also frequently come under fire, as the Free To Choose Network’s forthcoming Free To Speak docuseries will thoroughly investigate. Premiering October 5th, the film will examine “the power and controversy of free speech across nations and time.”
The film comes at an opportune moment. Today’s illiberal activists have tarnished this extensive precedent of discourse by censoring right-of-center voices and exacerbating partisan hostility in the United States. With the Biden Administration’s rescission of the “free inquiry” rule earlier this year, the US lost an education policy designed to uphold First Amendment and liberty rights. Open dialogue is passé. Censorship and silence are the new fashion.
This is especially bad for college students whose educational experiences have been substantially altered by censorship. From the enduring issues surrounding ideological tolerance to the “canceling” of tenured professors, institutions are inadequately unholding the fundamental right to expression. Binghamton students have endured the brunt of explicit censorship, ideological conformity, and silencing.
Censorship disproportionately impacts right-of-center students nationwide, which is comical considering that progressive students have historically pioneered the Free Speech Movement and faced suppression. Due to growing civil unrest in the 1960s, a coalition of young advocates first gained momentum at the University of California, Berkeley. Universities and law enforcement cracked down as the protests grew, which resulted in separate fatal occurrences at Jackson State and Kent State universities.
Today’s university protests are causing the police presence to increase once more. Mandated by law, public establishments must safeguard campus free speech.
National organizations have spotlighted these concerns. For instance, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) aims to uphold and defend every American’s fundamental liberties of thought and expression. They encourage a culture of support for these rights and offer ways to protect them. FIRE also evaluates free speech rules at more than 486 schools, including Binghamton University. Schools are classified annually as green, yellow, or red light institutions based on how far they restrict free expression.
FIRE classifies Binghamton University in the “yellow light” category, indicating limited protected expression. Yellow light regulations are unconstitutional in public institutions. Binghamton’s speech climate is slightly below FIRE’s national average, and peers reportedly share this sentiment. According to FIRE, most Binghamton students self-censor, and a mere 33% say they are not concerned about harming their reputation if anything they say or do is out of context. Around 38% say shouting down a speaker to prevent them from speaking on campus is always unacceptable.
Binghamton’s history regarding freedom of expression is abysmal. The school made headlines in 2019, when protesters disrupted a speech from visiting conservative economist Dr. Arthur Laffer. The protests were so intense that Laffer wasn’t able to articulate his views, and two offending protesters were arrested. This wasn’t enough to protect the school from a lawsuit. The Alliance Defending Freedom brought suit against Binghamton in 2020, claiming that the campus was negligent in protecting the free speech of College Republicans, their members, and their guest speakers. That lawsuit is still ongoing.
Our Student Handbook contains benighted procedures regarding speech. Demonstrations risk being shut down based on their “portrayal of individuals,” and organizers must reserve spaces at least “four days” beforehand. These policies misrepresent Binghamton University’s values. In addition, they dampen the passion of our staff and students. Binghamton should loosen these guidelines so that free expression can flourish. Further protections to safeguard beliefs espoused on-campus and off-campus must also arise.
Other institutions have taken tremendous steps to solve these concerns. Over 100 colleges have adopted the Chicago Principles, a collection of guiding tenets highlighting a dedication to freedom of speech and expression on university campuses. As a T-20 public institution, SUNY Binghamton should follow in the footsteps of other accredited universities and embrace the Chicago Statement to demonstrate an appreciation towards staff and student freedom of expression. Numerous schools in New York State have already incorporated these principles — including Columbia University, Utica College, and the CUNY system.
This issue should cross ideological boundaries. It doesn’t matter if you’re conservative or progressive; everyone benefits from an unrestrained exchange of ideas. Fortifying a university’s fundamental goal as a venue for unconfined research, discussion, and dialogue should be an immense prerogative of all American universities. The Chicago Principles would hold our institution responsible for defending the rights to free expression of staff and students, regardless of whether their objective is to conduct research, campaign, protest, or learn in a setting that fosters open inquiry.
It’s time we recognized loopholes in our campus’ speech regulations that allow for unlawful and immoral constraints within our institution. Embracing the Chicago principles would be an excellent place to start.