Harvey Silverglate on Harvard's Free Speech Fakery

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Growing up, Harvey Silverglate always had a natural inclination toward free speech. As he says, “We really used to say on the streets of Brooklyn, ‘Sticks and stones will break my bones but names can never harm me.’”

After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1967, Harvey followed his passion for free speech to college campuses, where, as a lawyer, he defended Vietnam war protesters. His experiences defending student expression on campus eventually led him to co-found FIRE, where he now serves as Chairman of the Board.

In FIRE’s latest video, we sit down with Harvey to discuss why it is so important to defend the principles of free speech and academic freedom on campus. Harvey also tackles such subjects as Harvard’s deception when it comes to academic freedom and what label people give him that makes him laugh the most.