STANLEY KURTZ: A Plan To Restore Free Speech On Campus. “The greatest advantage enjoyed by supporters of free speech is that the public outside of the universities — liberals and conservatives alike — continues to uphold the ideal of intellectual freedom. The most powerful way to activate that support is by way of state university systems. State legislatures have the ability to establish and reinforce the core values of their respective university systems, and any such initiatives would have consequences far beyond public institutions.”
Federal civil rights legislation protecting college students and faculty from arbitrary punishment for speech is also worth passing. Given Obama’s repeated statements on the importance of campus free speech, it would be hard for him to veto it.