Bay Area universities at bottom of 2024 free speech list
Image by Wikimedia Commons
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression flips back this year's calendar, recalling 102 unsettling "deplatforming" incidents at U.S. colleges (i.e., an event was substantially disrupted or canceled due to controversy, a speaker's invitation rescinded, etc.). On the repeated incidents list—along with big players like Harvard and Dartmouth—see our very own San Jose State University, UC Berkeley, and UC Davis.
FIRE’s Campus Deplatforming database documents efforts to censor invited speakers, artwork, film screenings, or performances (e.g., comedy shows, plays) on public and private American college and university campuses from 1998-present. Schools included in the rankings received bonuses for unequivocally defending free expression during a deplatforming campaign from 2020-mid-2024. They received penalties for successfully deplatforming a speaker or for being the site of a substantial event disruption (when one or more people unsuccessfully attempt to disrupt an event, entirely prevent a speaker from speaking, or prevent an audience from hearing the speaker) within the same time frame.[46]
At the schools surveyed, a total of 102 successful deplatforming incidents (60%) occurred. They include:[47]
45 substantial event disruptions, when one or more people substantially disrupt or entirely prevent a speaker from speaking or prevent an audience from hearing the speaker.
36 revocations, when a speaker’s invitation is rescinded.
Six rejections, when a school or the student government preemptively rejects a speaker.
Seven withdrawals, when a speaker cancels an event in response to a disinvitation campaign.
Three postponements, when an event is postponed to a later date due to controversy.
Six cancellations of performances or film screenings.
Two removals of displayed artwork.
All of these deplatforming incidents negatively impacted a school's overall score.
FIRE also recorded 44 attempted disruptions at the 257 schools surveyed. These incidents also negatively impacted a school's overall score.
The 102 successful deplatforming attempts occurred on 71 of the 257 campuses. Harvard University and New York University, two of the lowest ranked schools, experienced four successful deplatformings each. Dartmouth College, Syracuse University, the University of Houston, the University of New Mexico, and the University of Southern California each experienced three successful deplatformings since 2020.
The following 21 schools were each the site of more than one successful deplatforming incident and altogether account for 53 of the 102 successful deplatforming attempts (52%). A number of these schools — Barnard College, Harvard, NYU, Syracuse, the University of Pennsylvania, and USC — also rank in the bottom 10 of this year’s College Free Speech Rankings with either a “Very Poor” or “Abysmal” speech climate:
Harvard University
New York University
Dartmouth College
Syracuse University
University of Houston
University of New Mexico
University of Southern California
Barnard College
Brown University
Indiana University
Pennsylvania State University
San Jose State University
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Davis
University of California, Los Angeles
University of Florida
University of Michigan
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh
University of Utah
University of Vermont
Read the whole thing here.
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