Table of Contents

From Berkeley to the 'Blueprint': Prof. Dave's Fight for Free Speech on Campus (VIDEO)

For Professor Dave, nearly 50 years of working and studying at colleges and universities has been quite the rollercoaster ride.Being a student and professor of philosophy, Professor Dave has a deep passion for challenging conventional wisdom and exploring new ideas. He was a student at the University of California, Berkeley in the 1960s when the free speech movement swept campus, and he naturally gravitated toward its message of academic freedom and unrestricted expression.But Professor Dave was dismayed in the mid-80s to see the rise of speech codes on campus, including at the University of Michigan, where he taught. Often hidden within school harassment and civility policies, the regulations were wielded by college administrators to censor all sorts of protected student and faculty speech.In 1999, FIRE was formed, and Professor Dave watched with relief as the organization successfully pushed back against the tide of censorship on campus. Things were looking up.But then, on May 9, 2013, something Professor Dave thought would never happen occurred, throwing the fight for free expression on campus into flux.For a complete video transcript, please visit: https://www.thefire.org/article/16149.htmlWant to know more about the ED/DOJ “blueprint”?  Check out FIRE's Frequently Asked Questions here!

Recent Articles

FIRE’s award-winning Newsdesk covers the free speech news you need to stay informed.

Share