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US Campuses Debate Limits of Free Speech

FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2017, photo, a fire set by demonstrators protesting a scheduled speaking appearance by Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos burns on Sproul Plaza on the University of California, Berkeley campus.
FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2017, photo, a fire set by demonstrators protesting a scheduled speaking appearance by Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos burns on Sproul Plaza on the University of California, Berkeley campus.

Conservative writer Heather Mac Donald, invited to Claremont McKenna College to speak about law enforcement policy in black neighborhoods, addressed an auditorium of less than 20.

Outside the hall, throngs of angry students stood against the door, chanting and linking arms, refusing to let anyone in to hear her speak. With access to the talk blocked, organizers livestreamed her event. Afterward, she slipped out a back door with police escort.

Milo Yiannopoulos speaks to a group protesting against CUNY’s decision to allow Linda Sarsour, a liberal Palestinian-American political activist, to speak at commencement in New York, May 25, 2017.
Milo Yiannopoulos speaks to a group protesting against CUNY’s decision to allow Linda Sarsour, a liberal Palestinian-American political activist, to speak at commencement in New York, May 25, 2017.

At the University of California-Berkeley, a planned speech by alt-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos resulted in broken windows. At Middlebury College, the controversial social scientist Charles Murray was hounded by students as he left his talk early.

And at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in February, conservative commentator Ben Shapiro was interrupted by dozens of students yelling “shame,” as he gave a lecture about safe spaces, free speech and political correctness.

Ben Shapiro attends Politicon at The Pasadena Convention Center, Aug. 30, 2017, in Pasadena, California.
Ben Shapiro attends Politicon at The Pasadena Convention Center, Aug. 30, 2017, in Pasadena, California.

U.S. college campuses have long been a place for debate and public demonstrations, and some worry the push by students to shut down speakers they disagree with is a setback for the free speech protections afforded by the U.S. Constitution.

A legislator in Wisconsin has responded by introducing a bill to punish people who try to shut down these events.

The Campus Free Speech Act would require University of Wisconsin campuses to suspend and expel students who interrupt invited speakers. Representative Jesse Kremer, a Republican and the bill's author, says hecklers should not be allowed to usurp speakers.

“Repeatedly, we've seen students shouted down and silenced by those in disagreement,” Kremer said in a statement. This bill “will end the unconstitutional heckler’s ‘veto’ and create a behavioral shift on campus.”

Rep. Jesse Kremer, left, speaks as Assembly Speaker Robin Vos listens at a news conference focused on targeting fraud in Wisconsin's food stamp program. Nov. 3, 2015, in Madison, Wisconsin.
Rep. Jesse Kremer, left, speaks as Assembly Speaker Robin Vos listens at a news conference focused on targeting fraud in Wisconsin's food stamp program. Nov. 3, 2015, in Madison, Wisconsin.

If voted into law, students would face discipline for taking part in demonstrations that “interfere with the rights of others to engage in or listen” to invited speakers. The bill outlines interferences including, “violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, obscene, unreasonably loud or disorderly conduct.” A third violation would be grounds for expulsion.

But some legal observers say the proposed bill itself runs afoul of constitutional protections.

“The language in the bill that says a student can be penalized for boisterous conduct … is too broad to meet constitutional muster,” said Lata Nott, executive director of the First Amendment Center at the Newseum Institute in Washington.

John Behling, UW System Board of Regents president, lauded the new legislation as a way to protect speakers like Shapiro. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who appointed Behling, also voiced support for the bill.

The “Board of Regents strongly believe in the freedom of expression, and we want to do more to ensure every voice is heard,” Behling said in a statement.

Critics argue that the bill will end up stifling free speech on campus.

“It amazes me that Wisconsin Republicans can support a bill aimed at protecting free speech by limiting free speech,” said state Rep. David Crowley, a Democrat from Milwaukee. The bill is “aimed at limiting exposure to different opinions and creating extreme, unwarranted and unnecessary punishments for exercising your right to protest.”

“When you try to protect free expression by limiting free expression, I think the result would be less free expression for everybody,” Nott said.

She said she would advise Walker to not sign the bill.

Republicans defended the bill, drawing a distinction between disruptive behavior and first amendment-protected protest, which they said would not be banned.

The bill is modeled on legislation drafted by the Phoenix-based Goldwater Institute, a right-wing think-tank named after Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona who died in 1998.

Colorado, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Utah have similar laws already on the books curbing campus speech. A number of states are considering similar bills, including Illinois, Michigan, Texas and California.

"The bill is designed to prevent the sorts of belligerent, violent protests we've seen on some college campuses, including Wisconsin," said Jim Manley, a senior attorney at the Goldwater Institute.

He said the legislation strengthens the First Amendment rights of protesters because it does not allow cities or universities to designate specific “free speech zones.”

“The bill is designed to protect free expression broadly for both protesters and invited speakers,” Manley said.

FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2017, photo, University of California, Berkeley police guard the building where Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos was to speak in Berkeley.
FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2017, photo, University of California, Berkeley police guard the building where Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos was to speak in Berkeley.

“Disrupting free speech is unconstitutional,” Republican Rep. Dave Murphy said on the assembly floor. “Disruption is not speech. Disruption isn't protest. Disruption is theft. Theft of another person's right to speak and be heard.”

An earlier version of the story incorrectly reported who invited MacDonald to speak. Claremont McKenna College's research institutes, the Rose Institute and the Salvatori Center, invited MacDonald.

Should free speech on campus be regulated? Please share your suggestion in the Comments here, and visit us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, thanks!

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International students may be able to get jobs at school 

FILE - Northeastern University graduate student Shabbir Hussain, of Indore, India, left, views a computer screen at the entrance to the Snell Library on the Northeastern University campus in Boston on May 24, 2016.
FILE - Northeastern University graduate student Shabbir Hussain, of Indore, India, left, views a computer screen at the entrance to the Snell Library on the Northeastern University campus in Boston on May 24, 2016.

International students studying in the United States may be able to work on campus.

Jobs can include working in libraries, labs, food service and dormitories – but students will have to research the rules before applying for jobs, according to U.S. News & World Report. (September 2024)

Report says college rankings have the potential to mislead

FILE - Students walk at Main Quadrangle on the University of Chicago campus, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Chicago.
FILE - Students walk at Main Quadrangle on the University of Chicago campus, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Chicago.

Each year, prominent lists of college and university rankings are compiled and released to the public, but a report conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago says those rankings have the potential to mislead.

Writing in Forbes, Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier says changing methodologies can distort results, and profit motives can create doubt. He argues that rankings should be replaced by an objective rating system. (September 2024)

College athletes push for voter turnout while largely avoiding controversy as election nears

FILE - A 5.8-meter Airstream Caravel on loan to the League of Women Voters of Ohio visits the main campus of the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 26, 2024, as the group works to register and engage student voters.
FILE - A 5.8-meter Airstream Caravel on loan to the League of Women Voters of Ohio visits the main campus of the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 26, 2024, as the group works to register and engage student voters.

Lily Meskers faced an unexpected choice in the lead-up to the first major election she can vote in.

The 19-year-old University of Montana sprinter was among college athletes in the state who received an inquiry from Montana Together asking if she was interested in a name, image and likeness deal to support Sen. Jon Tester, a three-term Democrat seeking re-election. The group, which is not affiliated with the Tester campaign, offered from $400 to $2,400 to athletes willing to produce video endorsements.

Meskers, who is from Colorado but registered to vote in Montana, decided against the deal because she disagrees with Tester's votes on legislation involving transgender athletes in sports.

"I was like, OK, I believe that this is a political move to try to gain back some voters that he might have lost," Meskers said. "And me being a female student-athlete myself, I was not going to give my endorsement to someone who I felt didn't have the same support for me."

Professional athletes such as LeBron James, Colin Kaepernick and Stephen Curry have taken high-profile stances on hot-button topics and political campaigns in recent years, but college athletes are far less outspoken — even if money is available, according to experts in the NIL field. Being outwardly political can reflect on their school or endanger potential endorsement deals from brands that don't want controversy. It can certainly establish a public image for an athlete — for better or for worse — or lead to tensions with teammates and coaches who might not feel the same way.

There are examples of political activism by college athletes: A Texas Tech kicker revealed his support for former President Donald Trump on a shirt under his uniform at a game last week and a handful of Nebraska athletes a few days ago teamed up in a campaign ad against an abortion measure on the Tuesday's ballot.

Still, such steps are considered rare.

"It can be viewed as risky and there may be people telling them just don't even take that chance because they haven't made it yet," said Lauren Walsh, who started a sports branding agency 15 years ago. She said there is often too much to lose for themselves, their handlers and in some cases, their families.

"And these individuals still have to figure out what they're going to do with the rest of their lives, even those that do end up getting drafted," she added.

College coaches are not always as reticent. Auburn men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl has used social media to make it clear he does not support Kamala Harris, Trump's Democratic opponent in next week's presidential election. Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy once caused a stir with a star player for wearing a shirt promoting a far-right news outlet.

Blake Lawrence, co-founder of the NIL platform Opendorse, noted that this is the first presidential election in the NIL era, which began in July 2021. He said athletes are flocking to opportunities to help increase voter turnout in the 18-to-24 age demographic, adding that one of his company's partners has had 86 athletes post social media messages encouraging turnout through the first half of the week.

He said athletes are shying away from endorsing specific candidates or causes that are considered partisan.

"Student-athletes are, for the most part, still developing their confidence in endorsing any type of product or service," he said. "So if they are hesitant to put their weight behind supporting a local restaurant or an e-commerce product, then they are certainly going to be hesitant to use their social channels in a political way."

Giving athletes a voice

Many college athletes have opted to focus on drumming up turnout in a non-partisan manner or simply using their platforms to take stands that are not directly political in nature. Some of those efforts can be found in battleground states.

FILE - Phoenix Mercury guard Natasha Cloud (0) celebrates after making a shot while fouled during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Minnesota Lynx, May 31, 2024, in Minneapolis.
FILE - Phoenix Mercury guard Natasha Cloud (0) celebrates after making a shot while fouled during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Minnesota Lynx, May 31, 2024, in Minneapolis.

A progressive group called NextGen America said it had signed players in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Virginia to encourage voting among young people. Another organization, The Team, said it prepped 27 college athletes in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona and Michigan to lead volunteer voter participation opportunities for students. The organization also said it got more than 625 coaches to sign a nonpartisan pledge to get their athletes registered to vote.

The Team's executive director is Joe Kennedy, a former coach who coordinated championship visits and other sporting events at the White House during President Barack Obama's administration. In early October, it hosted a Zoom event during which panelists such as NCAA President Charlie Baker and WNBA players Nneka Ogwumike and Natasha Cloud gave college athletes advice about using their platforms on campus.

In its early days, The Team seized upon momentum from the record turnout seen in the 2020 election. The NCAA that year said Division I athletes could have Election Day off from practice and play to vote. Lisa Kay Solomon, founder of the All Vote No Play campaign, said even if the athletes don't immediately take stands on controversial issues, it's important for them to learn how.

"It is a lot to ask our young people to feel capable and confident on skills they've never had a chance to practice," Solomon said. "We have to model what it means to practice taking risks, practice standing up for yourself, practice pausing to think about what are the values that you care about — not what social media is feeding into your brain, but what do you care about and how do you express that? And how do you do it in a way that honors the kind of future that you want to be a part of?"

Shut up and play?

Two years ago, Tennessee-Martin quarterback Dresser Winn said he would support a candidate in a local district attorney general race in what experts said was very likely the first political NIL deal by a college athlete.

There have been very few since.

The public criticism and fallout for athletes who speak out on politics or social issue can be sharp. Kaepernick, the Super Bowl-winning quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, hasn't played in an NFL game since January 2017, not long after he began kneeling during the national anthem at games.

Meskers, the Montana sprinter, said political endorsements through NIL deals could create problems for athletes and their schools.

"I just think that NIL is going to run into a lot of trouble and a lot of struggles if they continue to let athletes do political endorsements," she said. "I just think it's messy. But I stand by NIL as a whole. I think it's really hard as a student athlete to create a financial income and support yourself."

Walsh said it's easier for wealthy and veteran stars like James and Ogwumike to take stands. James, the Los Angeles Lakers star, started More Than a Vote — an organization with a mission to "educate, energize and protect Black voters" — in 2020. He has passed the leadership to Ogwumike, who just finished her 13th year in the WNBA and also is the president of the Women's National Basketball Players Association. More than a Vote is focused on women's rights and reproductive freedom this year.

"They have very established brands," Walsh said. "They know who they are and they know what their political stance is. They know that they have a really strong following that -- there's always going to be haters, but they're also always going to have that strong following of people who listen to everything that they have to say."

Andra Gillespie, an associate professor at Emory University who teaches African American politics, also said it is rare that a college athlete would make a significant impact with a political stand simply because they tend to have a more regional platform than national. Even celebrities like Taylor Swift and Eminem are better at increasing turnout than championing candidates.

"They are certainly very beneficial in helping to drive up turnout among their fans," Gillespie said. "The data is less conclusive about whether or not they're persuasive – are they the ones who are going to persuade you to vote for a particular candidate?"

Athletes as influencers

Still, campaigns know young voters are critical this election cycle, and athletes offer an effective and familiar voice to reach them.

Political and social topics are not often broached, but this week six Nebraska athletes — five softball players and a volleyball player — appeared in an ad paid for by the group Protect Women and Children involving two initiatives about abortion laws on Tuesday's ballot.

The female athletes backed Initiative 434, which would amend the state constitution to prohibit abortions after the first trimester, with exceptions. Star softball player Jordy Bahl said on social media that the athletes were not paid.

A University of Montana spokesperson said two athletes initially agreed to take part in the NIL deal backing Tester. The school said one withdrew and the other declined to be interviewed.

For Meskers, deciding against the offer boiled down to Tester twice voting against proposals to bar federal funds from going to schools that allow transgender athletes to play women's sports, a prominent GOP campaign topic. Tester's campaign said the proposals were amendments to government spending packages, and he didn't want to play a role in derailing them as government shutdowns loomed.

"As a former public school teacher and school board member, Jon Tester believes these decisions should be made at the local level," a Tester spokesperson said. "He has never voted to allow men to compete against women."

Meskers said she believes using influence as college athletes is good and she is in favor of NIL. She just doesn't think the two should mix specifically for supporting candidates.

"I think especially as student athletes, we do have such a big voice and we do have a platform to use," she said. "So I think if you're encouraging people to do their civic duties and get up and go (vote), I think that's a great thing."

Bloomberg Philanthropies says investment in low-income students fell short 

FILE - Michael Bloomberg announces his organization, Bloomberg Philanthropies, will give $600 million to the endowments of the four historically Black medical schools at the National Medical Association convention, Aug. 6, 2024, in New York
FILE - Michael Bloomberg announces his organization, Bloomberg Philanthropies, will give $600 million to the endowments of the four historically Black medical schools at the National Medical Association convention, Aug. 6, 2024, in New York

More than $140 million from billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s charitable programs have been spent getting talented low-income students into top colleges, but an analysis of those programs found they fell short of goals.

The Wall Street Journal took a look at the programs, their objectives, and how they haven’t led to the results Bloomberg Philanthropies wanted to see. (September 2024)

Music students find community through 'international chat' program

FILE - A bicyclist watches for traffic before riding in Fredonia, NY, on Dec. 11, 2009.
FILE - A bicyclist watches for traffic before riding in Fredonia, NY, on Dec. 11, 2009.

State University of New York at Fredonia is trying a new method to help international music students feel at home.

A professor at the school hosts informal chats -- known as "international chat" -- several times a semester. The goal, the school says in an article, is to function "as a study group session for international students facing challenges that are unique to international students."

Read the full story here. (October 2024)

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