College should be a place where academics can educate and mold the minds of our future scientists, doctors, and leaders. For far too long, however, American universities have been dominated by a culture of tyranny and complicity in having our rights stricken from us. I am, of course, talking about the individual rights to freedom of speech and the right to assemble on campus.
American universities have forgotten to protect these rights for students and, in some instances, have outright banned students from speaking their minds. Students can expect to be barred from free speech outside of designated “free speech zones” in some universities or assembling in or around campus for their various clubs or groups. The fight for individual liberties has unfortunately crept its way into our universities, and this is a fight we cannot afford to lose.
Supposed “free speech” on many college campuses is closer to state-censored speech than anything remotely free. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) posts an annual “Spotlight on Speech Codes” report, which shows the state of free speech on college campuses. For 2022, FIRE surveyed 481 universities. 18.5 percent of American colleges are in the so-called “red light” ratings, according to FIRE. From FIRE’s website, “a ‘red light’ institution has at least one red light policy that both clearly and substantially restricts freedom of speech.”
Even more alarming, 68 percent of colleges surveyed received a “yellow light” rating. FIRE describes yellow light ratings as “having at least one yellow light policy that restricts a more limited amount of protected expression or, by virtue of vague wording, can too easily be used to restrict protected expression.” FIRE continues to explain that “yellow light policies still restrict expression protected under First Amendment standards and invite administrative abuse. At public institutions, yellow light policies are unconstitutional.”
I was supporting a Young Americans for Liberty chapter at SUNY Old Westbury in Long Island one day with a friend. We were handing out pocket constitutions with a table and flag on public grounds. A disgruntled student got campus security to escort us off-campus within the hour.
The public university system that New Yorkers are paying for is actively removing students from public property for spreading ideas they disagree with. I saw how daunting anti-Free Speech rules could be for liberty-minded students. How is it that public campuses can have the authority to restrict students from handing out the U.S. Constitution on public property?
Violations against students’ rights are ripe across American campuses. As FIRE puts in its reports, it is a severe problem across college campuses. Fortunately, Liberty-minded organizations, like the Young Americans for Liberty (YAL), are fighting back. YAL has mobilized its student activists to fight free speech violations in public and private universities across the country.
Young Americans for Liberty has effectively overturned over 100 Free Speech violations ranging from free speech zones to bans of student groups on campus, not to mention their wins regarding students’ rights to self-defense and unbanning pepper spray. Supporting youth-based groups, like YAL, might be the most straightforward step forward for achieving liberty in our lifetime.
YAL is only one example of student groups working on college campuses. We can point to groups like Students For Liberty (SFL) or the Atlas Society as examples of students mobilizing the youth to fight for individualism. Other groups to be aware of, including Turning Point USA (TPUSA) or the College Republicans (CRs), also support most of our values but have a much more particular conservative-leaning approach.
If it is in our interests to grow liberty among the youth and support the ideas of liberty from the base, student groups are our best chance at creating a viable cultural shift. Student groups will be at the front lines of college tyranny, and these groups are fighting back.
Our future leaders are being treated with a harsh authoritarian policy that shapes their morals, careers, and future. The fight for promoting liberty tomorrow exists with fighting against tyrannical violations of our freedoms, including free-speech codes, in college universities. Groups are working to fight against these college institutions, but they need the help of liberty-minded people like us to support the students in their fight for liberty on campus.
