Unlearning Liberty: Campus Censorship and the End of American Debate
(Encounter Books, 2012)
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On college campuses across the country students are increasingly encountering speech and behavior codes. Students who violate these codes, often unwittingly, can face severe disciplinary action or even expulsion. For more than a decade, FIRE has fought to preserve students’ rights to free speech, due process, freedom of conscience, and legal equality. In his new book, Unlearning Liberty: Campus Censorship and the End of American Debate, FIRE president Greg Lukianoff discusses some of FIRE’s most memorable cases and makes an impassioned plea for freedom of speech and due process on college campuses. If we don’t teach our children the value of free and open intellectual debate in our institutions of higher education, Lukianoff asks, then when will they ever learn?
But some see college campuses as important safe havens—unique areas where people of all backgrounds can be free from feelings of exclusion. Perhaps college campuses should not be bastions of freedom, but rather communities of inclusion. With so many forces in the world belittling people for who they are, why should college campuses allow this same type of exclusionary behavior?
Joining Mr. Lukianoff will be Alexander McCobin, President of Students for Liberty, and Kelly Jemison, Events Manager for Students for Liberty. Both will discuss how students are being affected by campus speech codes and their experiences working with students who are fighting to have their campus speech codes changed. Join us for a discussion of these fascinating and important issues.
