Dr. Richard Vedder
Dr. Richard Vedder, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Economics at Ohio University, authored a column in Forbes headlined “Collegiate Free Speech And The Federal Government.”
Being somewhat of a First Amendment absolutist, I was at first thrilled when I heard that President Trump was considering an executive order denying federal financial research assistance to colleges permitting an abridgment of free expression on their campuses. Unfettered peaceful forms of intellectual expression are at the core of what universities are all about. Learning and advancement comes by evaluating alternative viewpoints: does the Sun revolve around the Earth, or the Earth around the Sun (a debate resolved long ago)? Is immigration good or bad, welfare enhancing or does it endanger the nation? Is global warming an existential threat to the human race or an overblown issue? Campuses are where these issues need to be debated, and even seemingly crazy perspectives need to be considered. Long live the First Amendment! This thinking made me a fan of the Chicago Principles –students need to be face uncomfortable and distasteful ideas and assess their validity –and that means free campus inquiry and expression.
But then I had second thoughts.
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