It is no news flash that being a conservative on a college or university campus today is difficult or that free speech is under assault. Take this latest story, for example. On June 6, the Epoch Times reported that Ilya Shapiro, director of the Georgetown Center for the Constitution, resigned over the lack of freedom of expression, an irony too obvious to ignore. Shapiro wrote in his resignation letter, “I won’t live this way. I have no choice but to resign.” He accused Georgetown University of creating a toxic work environment, making it impossible for him to do his job. One more free speech advocate gone from the ranks of the academy.
However, conservative faculty are not the only casualties—so are conservative students, who find it difficult to learn in an environment hostile to their interests and beliefs. Mission statement after mission statement, particularly at small liberal arts colleges, proclaim their commitment to free expression and free inquiry. Yet, as in Shapiro’s case, with a policy that “promotes free and open inquiry, deliberation and debate,” the paper promise is not universally applied. As Shapiro put it, “Apparently it’s free speech for thee, not for me.”
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