State sides with free speech

Great move by all state universities.

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2019/04/15/desantis-fsu-stop-universities-shouldnt-shield-students-free-speech/3471422002/

Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida higher education leaders Monday wholeheartedly endorsed President Donald Trump’s recent executive order for universities to uphold all forms of free speech on campus.

“The idea that you get free speech in only one zone and that you have other safe spaces where you are not ever going to have to contend with an idea that you disagree with, that is something I reject," DeSantis said. "The role of the university is not to shield students from speech that makes them uncomfortable."

Last week, DeSantis asked all Florida university presidents to sign a resolution that they would not “stifle the dissemination of any idea” even when others find that speech to be abhorrent.

Each of the 12 state university system presidents have signed the document in response to the governor’s call, according to the News Service of Florida.

President Trump signed the earlier Executive Order titled “Improving Free Inquiry, Transparency, and Accountability at Colleges and Universities” in March. The executive order itself merely requires universities and colleges to certify that they are enforcing free speech standards to receive grants from 12 agencies including the the departments of Education, Health and Human Services and Defense, according to Inside Higher Education. 

DeSantis said there was no room on campuses for a heckler to be allowed to “scream down a speaker or shout down a speaker so they cannot articulate views.”

“Also, you’ve seen the trend (at some universities) of disinviting speakers once there was a student who opposed a speaker’s invitation," he added. "I think that’s a sign of weakness on behalf of school administrators and I think it demonstrates a lack of commitment to the free exchange of ideas.”

Florida, along with eight other states, prohibits free speech zones. The Legislature last year approved a “Campus Free Expression Act" that supporters said rescinded “egregious policies of censorship.”