特朗普将签政令:大学要保障言论自由 否则联邦不给钱!

Trump¹ Signs Order Linking College ‘Free Speech’ to Federal Aid

U.S. President Donald Trump has approved an order linking “free speech” efforts at colleges and universities in the United States to federal money.

Trump signed the executive order last Thursday at the White House. The measure directs public universities to create and enforce protections for students to express themselves freely.

Under the order, schools have to promise to support the First Amendment² of the U.S. Constitution, which protects free speech rights. But legal experts have noted³ that education institutions receiving federal money are already required to do this.

Private U.S. universities have more flexibility⁴ in limiting speech at their schools. The new executive order requires them to set up their own rules for free speech.

The measure requires colleges to support a right protected under the constitution in order to receive federal research and educational money. U.S. colleges and universities receive billions of dollars in federal money each year, including more than $30 billion for research.

“Even as universities have received billions and billions of dollars from taxpayers⁵, many have become increasingly hostile to free speech and to the First Amendment,” Trump said during a signing ceremony. “These universities have tried to restrict free thought, impose total conformity⁶ and shut down the voices of great young Americans.”

Trump administration officials have suggested that, in the past, some students have violated the rights of people visiting colleges to speak. The officials claimed that individuals with conservative values have been unfairly targeted.

Trump announced his plans for his ‘free speech’ order earlier this month during a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. At the event, Trump spoke⁷ about the case of activist⁸ Hayden Williams. Williams was hit during a visit to the University of California, Berkeley, in February. He went to the university to sign up students for a conservative group.

Enforcement of the executive order will be left to federal agencies that award federal money. White House officials did not announce details about how schools will be monitored and what kinds of violations⁹ could lead to a loss in federal aid.

Many colleges had already spoken out against the need for such an order before Trump signed it, and there was more criticism after the signing ceremony.

Janet Napolitano, president of the University of California system, denied there is a problem with free speech at U.S. colleges and universities. In fact, she said many schools are “ground zero” for the free exchange of ideas.

“We do not need the federal government to mandate¹⁰ what already exists: our longstanding, unequivocal support for freedom of expression,” Napolitano said.

The American Association of State Colleges and Universities said in a statement that public schools already fully¹¹ support free expression. The group added that the president’s order “does not - and cannot - add to or subtract from our pre-existing obligations under the Constitution.”

The American Council on Education, which represents more than 1,700 college presidents, called the order “a solution in search of a problem.”

Some U.S. student groups have called for restrictions¹² on speech that is considered hateful or could incite¹³ violence. In a study published last year, a majority of American college students said they valued diversity more than protecting free speech.

The study involved over 3,000 students across the country. They were asked how much they valued diversity and free speech. One question was: “If you had to choose, which do you think is more important?” About 53 percent of the students chose “a diverse and inclusive society” over “protecting free speech rights.”

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

flexibility – n. willing to change or to try different things

impose – v. force someone to accept

conformity – n. following rules or traditional ways of doing things

monitor – v. ?watch something carefully and record the results

mandate – n. officially require something

unequivocal – adj. completely clear and certain

subtract – v. take away from something

obligation – n. something that must be done because of a law, rule, promise, etc.

diversity – n. the state of having people who are different races or who have different cultures in a group or organization

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

5 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

6 conformity   

n.一致，遵从，顺从

参考例句：

• Was his action in conformity with the law?他的行动是否合法？
• The plan was made in conformity with his views.计划仍按他的意见制定。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

9 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

10 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

12 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

13 incite   

v.引起，激动，煽动

参考例句：

• I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家，非常会调动群众的情绪。
• Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将，就会干。