DeSantis’ attacks on educational free speech are unfair — but not always wrong
The past few weeks have seen
Gov. Ron DeSantis take aim at bias in university education. There are indications that the University of Central Florida may be the next university in DeSantis’ crosshairs. Efforts to curtail academic freedom at universities such as the “Stop
Woke Act” have received mixed polling and skeptical judicial oversight. Yet, they also reflect declining public confidence in modern U.S. universities. It’s time to acknowledge two things can be true at once. First, DeSantis’ efforts to restrict speech at universities are dangerous, authoritarian, and contrary to free-speech principles. And second, that universities such as UCF have largely dug this grave for themselves. Many American universities have opened themselves to attacks such as DeSantis’ in two ways. First, by themselves eschewing the value of free speech, often in the name of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Second, DeSantis’ basic critique of universities, that they too often waste students’ time and taxpayer dollars with unscientific advocacy rather than actual learning,— is increasingly true.
On the issue of free speech and academic freedom, UCF has little moral leg to stand on, having sacrificed that value themselves. In April of 2022, UCF lost a free speech lawsuit in which a judge ruled UCF violated students’ First Amendment rights. UCF had to revise a “harassment” policy which severely curtailed students’ speech, as well as jettison a bias response team that students use to snitch on each other, which can create an atmosphere of fear and coercion on campus. UCF also inappropriately fired psychology professor Charles Negy after Dr. Negy posted tweets critical of the Black Lives Matter narrative following the murder of George Floyd (transparency: Dr. Negy was my dissertation chair and remains my friend). An arbitrator ruled the firing inappropriate, requiring Dr. Negy being reinstated with tenure and back pay.
If DeSantis’ policies attacking tenure and censoring speech are bad (as I believe they are), universities such as UCF have done much the same themselves.
As a deeper issue, we also need to recognize too many academic disciplines have lost their educational focus, instead straying deeply into left-wing advocacy. This sacrifices academic rigor and replaces it with ideological conformity. Much of this comes alongside the burgeoning and expensive DEI bureaucracy at universities, despite that DEI efforts are largely ineffective in the core mission of increasing diversity and may actual harm race relations. Faculty increasingly must provide DEI statements for hiring, advancement and raises, statements which function mainly as a loyalty oath for the political far-left. This is, indeed, political coercion and indoctrination.
Free speech and open inquiry are core values essential to the functioning of the modern university. For those of us who are academics, the time is nigh to acknowledge we have lost our way. If we do not want authoritarian politicians to “fix” us, we must do so ourselves. We must commit to core values of free speech, institutional neutrality, and use merit only in hiring and advancement. Universities need to stop making morally grandstanding position statements on controversial social issues. Universities need to frankly grow a spine in the face of Twitter and other online mobs. Universities also need to acknowledge that many departments really have serious credibility and rigor problems. It’s true for most of the “studies” departments, such as gender or African American studies, where advocacy has replaced data as a core mission.
To be clear: a data-based gender or African American studies department should be welcomed in any university, but just as American history should be expected to cover unflattering history such as slavery or segregation, so should “studies” departments be honest about unflattering aspects of their core group’s history as well.
To fix this, we’ll need to vastly roll back the bureaucratic monstrosities that have metastasized across universities the past two decades, an approach that could also reduce exploding university tuition.