US President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order requiring US colleges to protect free speech on their campuses or risk losing federal research funding.
The order directs federal agencies to ensure that any college or university receiving research grants agrees to promote free speech and the exchange of ideas, and to follow federal rules guiding free expression.
“Even as universities have received billions and billions of [US] dollars from taxpayers, many have become increasingly hostile to free speech and to the first amendment,” Trump said at a White House signing ceremony. “These universities have tried to restrict free thought, impose total conformity and shut down the voices of great young Americans.”
Photo: Bloomberg
The order follows a growing chorus of complaints from conservatives who say their voices have been stifled on campuses across the US. Joining Trump at the ceremony were students who said they were challenged by their colleges while trying to express views against abortion or in support of their faith.
Trump initially proposed the idea during a March 2 speech, highlighting the case of Hayden Williams, who was punched in the face while recruiting for the group Turning Point USA at the University of California, Berkeley.
He invoked the case again on Thursday, saying that Williams was hit hard, “but he didn’t go down.”
Under the order, colleges would need to agree to protect free speech to tap into more than US$35 billion a year in research and educational grants.
For public universities, that means vowing to uphold the first amendment of the US constitution, which they are already required to do. Private universities, which have more flexibility in limiting speech, will be required to commit to their own institutional rules.
“We will not stand idly by to allow public institutions to violate their students’ constitutional rights,” Trump said. “If a college or university doesn’t allow you to speak, we will not give them money. It’s very simple.”
Enforcement of the order will be left to federal agencies that award grants, but how institutes would be monitored and what types of violations could trigger a loss of funding have yet to be seen.
White House officials said details about the implementation would be finalized in the next few months.
Many colleges have firmly opposed the need for an executive order.
Following Trump’s speech, Janet Napolitano, president of the University of California, said that many are “ground zero” for the exchange of ideas.
“We do not need the federal government to mandate what already exists: Our longstanding, unequivocal support for freedom of expression,” she said. “This executive order will only muddle policies surrounding free speech, while doing nothing to further the aim of the first amendment.”
The American Council on Education, which represents more than 1,700 college presidents, called the order “a solution in search of a problem.”
“No matter how this order is implemented, it is neither needed nor desirable, and could lead to unwanted federal micromanagement of the cutting-edge research that is critical to our nation’s continued vitality and global leadership,” said Ted Mitchell, the organization’s president.
US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos focused on another part of the order dealing with transparency in college performance data.
Her statement said that students “should be empowered to pursue truth through the free exchange of all ideas, especially ideas with which they may not agree. Free inquiry is an essential feature of our democracy, and I applaud the president’s continued support for America’s students.”
The order was supported by conservative groups including Turning Point USA, which has pushed for action on the issue.
In Trump’s speech, he thanked Charlie Kirk, the group’s founder, who has pushed for action on the issue.
On Twitter, Kirk called the order “historic,” adding that while harassment by campus faculty is not uncommon, “it ends today!”
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was