Tag: Free speech

Iowa at center of book ban movement

By Elizabeth Tharakan >> Iowa is one of the leading states for book bans in America, second only to Florida, according to PEN America.  Earlier this year, Iowa’s state Board of Education adopted the rules for a sweeping 2023 education law. The law — and the rules that enforce it — ban “sexual content” in

Speech we don’t like needs most protection

By William H. Freivogel The tricky thing about the First Amendment is that you have to protect the speech you hate as fiercely as the speech you love.   You have to protect leftist speech as much as rightist speech. Communists as much as fascists. Religious fundamentalists as much as atheists. Calls for war as much

Wash U chancellor harms free speech by embracing College Republicans’ 9/11 message while ignoring hateful attacks on student protester

Washington University has condemned student Fadel Alkilani for removing some of the 2,977 American flags that the College Republicans placed on Mudd Field this past weekend to commemorate the victims of the 9-11 attacks.  In a statement issued Sunday, Chancellor Andrew Martin declared that Alkilani’s action impeded “the free exchange of ideas.” The university is