CFP96 Paper

For the plenary session: On-line speech on campus

Harvey A. Silverglate

has@world.std.com

I am currently writing a book about the state of liberty on American college and university campuses, covering both liberty, and due process in disciplinary and other hearings and proceedings. I am particularly interested in the extent to which universities have in recent years imposed rather Draconian restrictions on what kinds of speech may be uttered on campus, or to fellow students or teachers or administrators. Such restrictions bind not only students, but typically bind faculty members and administrators as well. I will discuss the origins of this phenomenon -- how our bastions of academic freedom have come to be, now, less free than the outside "real world." I will discuss the forces that have driven restrictions of free speech on campuses. I will discuss the asserted justifications for curtailing speech. I will discuss the ways in which speech is curtailed, and will include, of course, restrictions on computer communications. I also plan to deal with suggestions for how liberty-loving people on campus can fight back.

There has been an enormous amount written about speech restrictions on campuses generally, and some of this has focused on restrictions on electronic speech. I will come to the program with some reading suggestions for those wishing to pursue particular issues.

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