Thirteen US Universities Form a Free Speech Group
2023-09-10
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Thirteen American colleges and universities recently announced the creation of a plan to support freedom of speech.
2The plan is part of an effort designed to fight what the schools call threats to U.S. democracy.
3Among the schools taking part are Cornell University in New York state; Rutgers University in New Jersey; Notre Dame, the Catholic university in the Midwestern state of Indiana; and Benedict College, a historically Black school in South Carolina.
4The effort is called The Campus Call for Free Expression.
5The organizer of the group is The Institute for Citizens and Scholars based in Princeton, New Jersey.
6It is paid for by the Knight Foundation, a private group based in Miami, Florida. The aim is to build respect for freedom of expression in colleges.
7Another goal is to help students bring opposing groups together.
8The effort for free speech comes after students at several schools blocked people invited to speak in recent years.
9The students said they disagreed with the writings, comments, ideas or actions of the invited speaker.
10Jonathan Alger is the president of James Madison University in Virginia, one of the schools in the group.
11He said the group is concerned about "deep polarization" in the U.S. where people cannot discuss their different ideas in "constructive and civil ways."
12He said colleges and universities need to be an example for the nation.
13The group started preparing for The Campus Call for Free Expression in March 2022.
14That was when college presidents gathered to discuss ways to get their students involved in democracy.
15The group came up with five principles of free expression and pushed for each school to design its own programs.
16The principles are to be used for new student orientations, educator training and special campus gatherings called convocations.
17The principles include developing knowledge that challenges common beliefs and assumptions; reaching decisions based on evidence; understanding one's own values and gaining respect for others who have different opinions; feeling a sense of responsibility to others and the need to work toward change; and learning that free expression has consequences and does not always lead to approval.
18Jonathan Holloway is the president at Rutgers.
19He said he saw a growing lack of respect for American institutions, and he wanted to push back against those feelings.
20In a discussion with the Associated Press, he said he was concerned by seeing the Confederate flag marched through the U.S. Capitol building during the riot on January 6, 2021.
21"That's when things shifted for me," he said.
22Holloway will lead a first-year class at Rutgers this year that looks at the meaning of democracy.
23The aim is for the class to create a program that will improve civic education.
24The nonprofit groups who are supporting the presidents say they are concerned that students may not be learning about how to be good citizens while in college.
25Rajiv Vinnakota is president of the Institute for Citizens and Scholars.
26He said students become part of a community with more different kinds of people than they have ever experienced while in college.
27He wants students to learn how to interact with people who have different opinions and experiences.
28And he hopes the 13 schools will be able to lead the way for others who will soon join the group.
29Vinnakota questioned if educators can "get above" issues of free expression to get people to see that higher education "can and should" play a leading part in what he called "civic preparedness."
30Some other colleges and universities in the group include Wellesley College in Massachusetts, Wesleyan University in Connecticut, Claremont McKenna College in California, Duke University in North Carolina and the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.
31The Knight Foundation gave Vinnakota's institute $250,000 to organize discussions among university leaders over the next year-and-a-half.
32Alberto Ibargüen is the head of the Knight Foundation. He said the group is interested in supporting the project because, "we believe in the free exchange of ideas...we believe in an informed citizenry..."
33PEN America is a nonprofit group that works with colleges and universities on free expression programs.
34It is not involved in the Campus Call for Free Expression.
35Kristen Shahverdian is the group's Free Expression and Education program senior manager.
36She said her group tells students about writers and artists around the world who have faced attacks or suffered for their ideas.
37"They understand the ramifications of squashing another's speech," she said.
38Lucas Morel is a professor of politics at Washington and Lee University in Virginia who is not involved in the project.
39He is the head of a group called the Academic Freedom Alliance.
40He said more universities should work on programs that permit students to learn by discussing different evidence-based ideas.
41He said colleges are not just for helping students get a job, but they should help young people become citizens who care about the world around them.
42"If we don't do a good job of helping them be careful readers and careful listeners, it stands to reason that as citizens they won't be careful listeners and careful expressers of their own thought," he said.
43"And it will be difficult for us to function as a self-governing society."
44I'm Faith Pirlo. And I'm Dan Friedell.
1Thirteen American colleges and universities recently announced the creation of a plan to support freedom of speech. 2The plan is part of an effort designed to fight what the schools call threats to U.S. democracy. 3Among the schools taking part are Cornell University in New York state; Rutgers University in New Jersey; Notre Dame, the Catholic university in the Midwestern state of Indiana; and Benedict College, a historically Black school in South Carolina. 4The effort is called The Campus Call for Free Expression. The organizer of the group is The Institute for Citizens and Scholars based in Princeton, New Jersey. It is paid for by the Knight Foundation, a private group based in Miami, Florida. The aim is to build respect for freedom of expression in colleges. Another goal is to help students bring opposing groups together. 5The effort for free speech comes after students at several schools blocked people invited to speak in recent years. The students said they disagreed with the writings, comments, ideas or actions of the invited speaker. 6Jonathan Alger is the president of James Madison University in Virginia, one of the schools in the group. He said the group is concerned about "deep polarization" in the U.S. where people cannot discuss their different ideas in "constructive and civil ways." He said colleges and universities need to be an example for the nation. 7The group started preparing for The Campus Call for Free Expression in March 2022. That was when college presidents gathered to discuss ways to get their students involved in democracy. 8The group came up with five principles of free expression and pushed for each school to design its own programs. The principles are to be used for new student orientations, educator training and special campus gatherings called convocations. 9The principles include developing knowledge that challenges common beliefs and assumptions; reaching decisions based on evidence; understanding one's own values and gaining respect for others who have different opinions; feeling a sense of responsibility to others and the need to work toward change; and learning that free expression has consequences and does not always lead to approval. 10Jonathan Holloway is the president at Rutgers. He said he saw a growing lack of respect for American institutions, and he wanted to push back against those feelings. In a discussion with the Associated Press, he said he was concerned by seeing the Confederate flag marched through the U.S. Capitol building during the riot on January 6, 2021. "That's when things shifted for me," he said. 11Holloway will lead a first-year class at Rutgers this year that looks at the meaning of democracy. The aim is for the class to create a program that will improve civic education. 12The nonprofit groups who are supporting the presidents say they are concerned that students may not be learning about how to be good citizens while in college. 13Rajiv Vinnakota is president of the Institute for Citizens and Scholars. He said students become part of a community with more different kinds of people than they have ever experienced while in college. He wants students to learn how to interact with people who have different opinions and experiences. And he hopes the 13 schools will be able to lead the way for others who will soon join the group. 14Vinnakota questioned if educators can "get above" issues of free expression to get people to see that higher education "can and should" play a leading part in what he called "civic preparedness." 15Some other colleges and universities in the group include Wellesley College in Massachusetts, Wesleyan University in Connecticut, Claremont McKenna College in California, Duke University in North Carolina and the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. 16The Knight Foundation gave Vinnakota's institute $250,000 to organize discussions among university leaders over the next year-and-a-half. 17Alberto Ibargüen is the head of the Knight Foundation. He said the group is interested in supporting the project because, "we believe in the free exchange of ideas...we believe in an informed citizenry..." 18PEN America is a nonprofit group that works with colleges and universities on free expression programs. It is not involved in the Campus Call for Free Expression. Kristen Shahverdian is the group's Free Expression and Education program senior manager. She said her group tells students about writers and artists around the world who have faced attacks or suffered for their ideas. 19"They understand the ramifications of squashing another's speech," she said. 20Lucas Morel is a professor of politics at Washington and Lee University in Virginia who is not involved in the project. He is the head of a group called the Academic Freedom Alliance. He said more universities should work on programs that permit students to learn by discussing different evidence-based ideas. He said colleges are not just for helping students get a job, but they should help young people become citizens who care about the world around them. 21"If we don't do a good job of helping them be careful readers and careful listeners, it stands to reason that as citizens they won't be careful listeners and careful expressers of their own thought," he said. "And it will be difficult for us to function as a self-governing society." 22I'm Faith Pirlo. And I'm Dan Friedell. 23Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press. 24_________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26polarization -n. to cause people to separate into opposing groups 27constructive -adj. useful in some way; not useless 28principles -n. (pl.) a set of ideas rules and beliefs that guide how people see right and wrong 29orientation -n. a process of giving people who are new to a job or school information and training 30challenge -v. to question something or dispute it 31assumption -n. something that a person believes to be true, but that is not known to be true 32consequences -n. (pl.) the results of some action or decision 33institution -n. an established organization that has a part in society or an established belief or behavior 34shift -v. to change position 35ramifications -n. (pl.) a result of an action or decision that are not easily realized or understood 36squash -v. to crush or smash 37function -n. to operate; to do a specific job correctly 38We want to hear from you. Do you think American universities need to teach their students more about how to have difficult discussions?