In Alcoholics Anonymous, the first step to recovery is recognizing that you have a problem. You can’t get better until you admit that you’re not doing well.
But our universities won’t do that.
Look no further than the recent one report of the Foundation for Individual Rights of Expression, or FIRE. In a survey of more than 6,000 faculty members from 55 colleges and universities, FIRE found that a quarter of professors felt unable to speak out for fear of the possible backlash from administrators, colleagues and students. And a third of teachers surveyed said they had recently toned down their writing for the same reason.
The universities’ answer? Crickets.
Our entire model rests on the free exchange of ideas. However, when the FIRE report came out, not a single president of an academic institution said we are failing to achieve that goal.
Instead, university leaders bit their tongues — just as faculty members do — or issued bland statements reaffirming their commitment to open expression and dialogue. Asked to comment on the FIRE report, an official at Columbia University said the school “remains committed to the principles of academic freedom and inclusive pluralism that define a great university.”
Real? So why did two-thirds of Columbia professors surveyed tell FIRE that they occasionally or often felt like they couldn’t express their opinions on campus? That doesn’t seem like freedom to me.
Simply put, university professors are afraid. And you can’t have a real dialogue – or a real university – if people are afraid to say and write what they think.
“Even as a professor, I feel pressure to hide certain opinions,” said a University of Texas faculty member. “The atmosphere in certain academic units can be cultish and fascist.”
Another professor said he was afraid to take the FIRE survey for fear of losing his job. It seems that in today’s universities the mere mention of freedom of expression can provoke self-censorship.
As you might guess, given the predominance of liberals on university faculties, conservative professors are more reluctant to express their opinions. But if you think this fear is just a right-wing thing, think again.
A faculty member at the University of Illinois at Chicago said he wanted to sign a petition in support of a ceasefire in Palestine, but he worried he would be covered up — that is, have his personal information published online — and that the university would do so. don’t defend him. And a black professor in the South noted that his state legislature had taken action to ban discussions of racism in the classroom, making him reluctant to discuss the topic with his colleagues.
Dozens of states have tried to limit the way K-12 teachers and universities address race and gender, which is the biggest censorship threat to education today. But our universities won’t be able to withstand the attack from outside their gates if they don’t get their own free speech rights in order.
Consider diversity, equity and inclusion, a touchstone of campus controversy in recent years. Sixteen anti-DEI bills were proposed this yearthat threaten to limit what faculty members can say in grant applications and even in course programs. Yet the university’s own culture discourages faculty members from discussing DEI in a free and open manner, as the FIRE report shows.
“You can’t question DEI, reason against DEI, or talk about anything related to DEI,” said a professor at the University of Michigan. Only people who “support it without a shadow of a doubt” should voice their opinions on DEI, the professor added.
We have not instituted an official ban on free speech, which is what state legislators are trying to do. Instead, we have created a climate that is hostile to that.
“You’re not so much afraid of discipline as you are afraid of being overshadowed or blacklisted,” said a Columbia professor. “Everything happens through gossip and conspiracy.”
You never know which words might get you in trouble, or which colleagues might try to burn you. That’s why so many people are afraid to say anything.
So it’s time for our leaders to stand up and declare the plain truth: We believe in the free exchange of ideas, but we have done a poor job of protecting it.
Universities must also pledge to defend anyone – faculty, students and staff – who feel threatened or intimidated for speaking out. Of course, no one has the right to protect themselves from criticism. But everyone should feel free to say what they think.
For now they don’t. And no one within our institutions is willing to say that out loud. We must have enough courage to acknowledge the fear that lives among us. That is the first step on the road to recovery.
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