Resignation of Penn President Liz Magill leads to reexamination of free speech on university campuses
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- With the resignation of Liz Magill, the University of Pennsylvania's president, over her remarks on genocide, there's more attention than ever on college campuses on the right to free speech and to be safe.
As KDKA-TV political editor Jon Delano reports, local universities appear to be working hard to find the right balance.
As Gov. Josh Shapiro reiterated in his one-on-one interview with KDKA-TV, Pennsylvania going back to William Penn and Ben Franklin has long been the home of vigorous, controversial and often offensive free speech.
"We need to make sure that Pennsylvania is that place where you can have that freedom of speech, have that ability to march down the street here in Pittsburgh, Philly, places in between and make sure your voice is heard whether I agree or disagree," said Shapiro last Thursday.
That speech includes sharp and robust criticism of Israel and its government, Hamas and its supporters and anybody else, especially on university campuses, says attorney Zachary Greenberg with FIRE, the Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
"Universities have dual obligations both to uphold the free speech rights of their students, to talk about political issues like Israel-Palestine and to learn in an environment that is free from true threats or other forms of unprotected misconduct," says Greenberg.
While critical of Penn's now-resigned president, Shapiro singled out leaders at Penn State, Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh for developing policies that allow free speech while protecting students from physical harm or illegal ethnic intimidation.
"The work that Neeli Bendapudi is doing at Penn State, Farnam Jahanian is doing at Carnegie Mellon, just to name two. And there are many others, Joan Gabel at Pitt – that work is helping make sure that students can be heard but in hearing them, folks can feel safe at the same time. And it's a delicate balance," said the governor.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression ("FIRE") grades universities on their support for free speech, allowing diverse and controversial speakers and making all feel safe to espouse views from leftwing to rightwing.
CMU is ranked 23rd and above average, while Pitt is ranked 130th and average and Penn State is below average at 189th among 250 schools ranked.
Both Pitt and Penn State have new leaders who could make a difference in the months ahead.
"We work with these universities," says Greenberg. "We urge them to make their universities better places for free speech by revising their speech codes, having strong pronouncements protecting the right of students to discuss these issues and allowing a free discussion of these views on their campuses."
While speech that offends others is protected, unprotected speech includes threats to kill or harm somebody, especially because of their race, religion or ethnic background.
"When does it cross the line?" asks Shapiro. "When you are threatening others, when you are making people feel unsafe, when you are brandishing weapons, when you are doing things that are purposefully damaging property or purposefully put people at risk. That's unacceptable."
