VOA教育报道2023--Thirteen US Universities Form a Free Speech Group

Thirteen US Universities Form a Free Speech Group

Thirteen American colleges and universities recently announced the creation of a plan to support freedom of speech.

The plan is part of an effort designed to fight what the schools call threats to U.S. democracy.

Among the schools taking part are Cornell University in New York state; Rutgers University in New Jersey¹; Notre Dame², the Catholic university in the Midwestern state of Indiana; and Benedict College, a historically Black school in South Carolina.

The effort is called The Campus Call for Free Expression. The organizer of the group is The Institute for Citizens and Scholars based in Princeton, New Jersey. It is paid for by the Knight³ Foundation, a private group based in Miami, Florida. The aim is to build respect for freedom of expression in colleges. Another goal is to help students bring opposing groups together.

The effort for free speech comes after students at several schools blocked people invited to speak in recent years. The students said they disagreed with the writings, comments, ideas or actions of the invited speaker.

Jonathan Alger is the president of James Madison University in Virginia, one of the schools in the group. He said the group is concerned about "deep polarization" in the U.S. where people cannot discuss their different ideas in "constructive⁴ and civil ways." He said colleges and universities need to be an example for the nation.

The group started preparing for The Campus Call for Free Expression in March 2022. That was when college presidents gathered to discuss ways to get their students involved in democracy.

The group came up with five principles of free expression and pushed for each school to design its own programs. The principles are to be used for new student orientations⁶, educator training and special campus gatherings⁷ called convocations.

The principles include developing knowledge that challenges common beliefs and assumptions; reaching decisions based on evidence; understanding one's own values and gaining respect for others who have different opinions; feeling a sense of responsibility to others and the need to work toward change; and learning that free expression has consequences and does not always lead to approval.

Jonathan Holloway is the president at Rutgers. He said he saw a growing lack of respect for American institutions, and he wanted to push back against those feelings. In a discussion with the Associated Press, he said he was concerned by seeing the Confederate flag marched through the U.S. Capitol building during the riot on January 6, 2021. "That's when things shifted for me," he said.

Holloway will lead a first-year class at Rutgers this year that looks at the meaning of democracy. The aim is for the class to create a program that will improve civic⁸ education.

The nonprofit groups who are supporting the presidents say they are concerned that students may not be learning about how to be good citizens while in college.

Rajiv Vinnakota is president of the Institute for Citizens and Scholars. He said students become part of a community with more different kinds of people than they have ever experienced while in college. He wants students to learn how to interact with people who have different opinions and experiences. And he hopes the 13 schools will be able to lead the way for others who will soon join the group.

Vinnakota questioned if educators can "get above" issues of free expression to get people to see that higher education "can and should" play a leading part in what he called "civic preparedness."

Some other colleges and universities in the group include Wellesley College in Massachusetts, Wesleyan University in Connecticut, Claremont McKenna College in California, Duke University in North Carolina and the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.

The Knight Foundation gave Vinnakota's institute $250,000 to organize discussions among university leaders over the next year-and-a-half.

Alberto Ibargüen is the head of the Knight Foundation. He said the group is interested in supporting the project because, "we believe in the free exchange of ideas...we believe in an informed citizenry..."

PEN America is a nonprofit group that works with colleges and universities on free expression programs. It is not involved in the Campus Call for Free Expression. Kristen Shahverdian is the group's Free Expression and Education program senior manager. She said her group tells students about writers and artists around the world who have faced attacks or suffered for their ideas.

"They understand the ramifications⁹ of squashing another's speech," she said.

Lucas Morel is a professor of politics at Washington and Lee University in Virginia who is not involved in the project. He is the head of a group called the Academic Freedom Alliance. He said more universities should work on programs that permit students to learn by discussing different evidence-based ideas. He said colleges are not just for helping¹⁰ students get a job, but they should help young people become citizens who care about the world around them.

"If we don't do a good job of helping them be careful readers and careful listeners, it stands to reason that as citizens they won't be careful listeners and careful expressers of their own thought," he said. "And it will be difficult for us to function as a self-governing society."

Words in This Story

polarization –n. to cause people to separate into opposing groups

constructive –adj. useful in some way; not useless

principles –n. (pl.) a set of ideas rules and beliefs that guide how people see right and wrong

orientation⁵ –n. a process of giving people who are new to a job or school information and training

challenge –v. to question something or dispute it

assumption –n. something that a person believes to be true, but that is not known to be true

consequences –n. (pl.) the results of some action or decision

institution –n. an established organization that has a part in society or an established belief or behavior

shift –v. to change position

ramifications –n. (pl.) a result of an action or decision that are not easily realized or understood

squash –v. to crush or smash

function –n. to operate; to do a specific job correctly

1 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

2 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

3 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

4 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

5 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

6 orientations   

n.方向( orientation的名词复数 )；定位；（任职等前的）培训；环境判定

参考例句：

• Welfare comparisons are also hindered by differences in orientations among economic systems. 经济制度之间倾向性的差别也会妨碍福利的比较。 来自辞典例句
• Their different value orientations led to different results in literary creation. 价值取向的分野亦导致了不同的创作局面。 来自互联网

7 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

8 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

9 ramifications   

n.结果，后果( ramification的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These changes are bound to have widespread social ramifications. 这些变化注定会造成许多难以预料的社会后果。
• What are the ramifications of our decision to join the union? 我们决定加入工会会引起哪些后果呢？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。