The so-called “intellectual diversity” bill is a politically motivated attack on the free exchange of ideas on campus.  Proponents of this bill, including the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) and conservative activist David Horowitz are distracting us from the real problems in higher education--that fewer and fewer Americans lack access to get the education they need to succeed.

This bill and similar proposals to restrict the free exchange of ideas in higher education would force year in, year out scrutiny from politicians into what is being taught, and how it is being taught— a sure recipe for a climate where faculty members feel they have to favor “balance” and “sensitivity” over scholarship and real learning.  It will force universities to restrict and regulate the views discussed in classrooms and the views of speakers.  The best way to ensure a wide variety of opinions and ideas is to have classrooms and quads as free from restrictions as possible.  Let the marketplace of ideas, not political correctness, rule the campus.

Report: Education Works Best With Free Exchange of Ideas
The Center and our coalition, Free Exchange on Campus, released a new report called “Campus Voices.” Throughout the spring, our staff has been on the ground speaking with faculty and students in Pennsylvania about the “Academic Bill of Restrictions.” The report finds that students and faculty learn and teach best when they have access to a free exchange of ideas, unencumbered by restrictions. For more information, read the report.

We're part of the Free Exchange On Campus coalition.  Visit their website.

Take action to protect the free exchange of ideas on your campus:

• Download the toolkit for faculty to stop the so-called “intellectual diversity” bill
• Download the toolkit for students to stop the so-called “intellectual diversity” bill

Worried that an attempt to restrict the free exchange of ideas will come to your state or campus? 

• Download the toolkit to protect your campus from attacks on the free exchange of ideas

Use the media!

• Ask professors and student leaders to write opinion editorials in the campus paper and the local paper. Click here for a sample opinion editorial.
• Meet with your newspaper's editorial board and ask them to editorialize against ABOR. Click here for talking points and frequently asked questions.
• Flood the paper with letters to the editor from students and faculty. Click here for sample letters to the editor.

Build a broad coalition.

• People from all across the political spectrum oppose the Academic Bill of Restrictions. Get professors, administrators, student government, and other student groups to sign on to a letter condemning ABOR as threat to academic freedom and free speech. Click here for a sample letter to send to groups.
• Get your campus student government to join the campaign. Click here for a sample student government resolution.

For more advice, contact Megan Fitzgerald at the Center for Campus Free Speech, 312-291-0396.

Campaign Results

Working with our partners in the Free Exchange on Campus Coalition, the Center has been a leader in the fight to stop restrictions on what students can learn and faculty can teach inside the classroom.

From 2006 to 2008, we have worked with a wide variety of faculty, students, administrators and concerned citizens to stop new attempts to restrict the free exchange of ideas on college campuses. We’ve helped to defeat legislation in: Arizona (2006, 2007), Georgia (2008), Kentucky (2007), Missouri (2007-2008), Montana (2007), South Dakota (2006), Virginia (2007, 2008) and Texas (2007).  Additionally, in 2006 we worked with a broad coalition of faculty, students and free speech advocates to ensure that the Pennsylvania legislature would reject calls for restrictions on their classrooms.

Fortunately, in November 2006, the Pennsylvania House Select Committee on Academic Freedom in Higher Education concluded that "academic freedom violations [in Pennsylvania] are rare" and that "requiring the adoption of a statewide academic freedom policy...was not necessary." The committee was formed in response to efforts to pass Horowitz’s so-called “Academic Bill of Rights” to study claims of political bias in the classroom from Horowitz and others.