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Donald Alexander Downs

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Restoring Free Speech and Liberty on Campus (Independent Studies in Political Economy)

by Donald Alexander Downs (Author)

4.5 2 ratings

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This book deals with the decline of respect for free speech, academic freedom, and civil liberty that has swept higher education in America over the last decade and a half and with what needs to be done to reverse this trend. Drawing on personal experience as well as research, Downs analyzes the origins and development of the problem, and shows how political organization of students and faculty can lead to constructive change. He presents four case studies that illustrate this thesis.

ISBN-10

0521689716
ISBN-13

978-0521689717
Publisher

Cambridge University Press
Publication date

October 16, 2006
Language

English
Dimensions

6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
Print length

320 pages
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book is extremely well written and includes an excellent index... A must-read for anyone concerned about freedom of academic inquiry."
Choice

"[This book] offers a vivid, updated history of America's culture wars into the early 2000s, a real blow by blow account of the struggles over free speech and related issues; all from the perspective of a professor of political science, law, and journalism who was personally involved as a leader of a free speech movement of students and faculty at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In this respect the book goes well beyond a theoretical exposition into an actual political narrative by a participant of the way mobilization was used to restore liberties that had been lost through the use of such policies as speech codes and anti-harassment codes."
Canadian Journal of Sociology Online

"An important contribution to the never-ending real-world struggles to maintain free speech on campus. Should be read by anyone interested in the status of higher education, the fate of constitutional citizenship, [and] the politics of civil liberty."
Nadine Strossen, President, American Civil Liberties Union

"At the very core of all our rights and liberties is the First Amendment. One of the places it has been most endangered is the American college and university campus. The story of how Donald Downs restored it so vibrantly against considerable odds is downright inspiring and, I hope, infectious."
Nat Hentoff, Author and Columnist, The Village Voice

"Puts coercive political correctness under the microscope as no previous book has done, and discovers not only why it is virulent but how to make antibodies. Real intellectual diversity-and thus the American university itself-has no better friend, anywhere, than Donald Downs."
Jonathan Rauch, Columnist, Atlantic Monthly

"Restoring Free Speech and Liberty on Campus, the product of considerable scholarship, is unequivocal in the positions it holds. Most of all, it is thought provoking and challenging. Agreement with all of Down's conclusions is neither important nor necessary, but this book needs to be read, discussed, and debated and, as a profession we need to be mindful of his perspective. It is a book that should find its way on the reading lists of those who in any way are engaged in the political, cultural, and social issues that so often frame campus life."
Journal of College Student Development

Book Description

The decline of respect for free speech, academic freedom, and civil liberty in American universities.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cambridge University Press (October 16, 2006)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0521689716
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0521689717
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.04 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #6,852,816 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #703 in Speech Communications
- #1,209 in Civil Rights
- #2,502 in Educational Philosophy

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bookloversfriend

a balanced, reasoned account by a liberal

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2006

The main purpose and content of this book is to present four case studies. In the first two, those of U. Penn and U. Wisconsin, thanks to efforts made by faculty and students in the last few years, gains were made in restoring some degree of free speech and other Bill-of-Rights protections to faculty and students. In the other two, Columbia and Berkeley, no such efforts have been made and the status quo continues. The author states that most or all other campuses resemble the latter two.

Also, in introductory chapters, the author gives a precis of what has happened to colleges and universities since 1987:

(1) the redefinition of the mission of the university from the search for truth and knowledge to the transforming of individuals into sensitive members of the community from whom all racism, sexism and homophobia has been washed away.

(2) the redefinition of speech as action. One doesn't state an opinion, one offends another person or harasses another person. So, codes against harassment and creating a hostile environment include saying anything of which the censors disapprove.

(3) "critical race theory", the view that racism is endemic to liberal society and that such notions as individual, reason, merit, etc. are racist notions and should be suppressed.

The author, like many others, states that the motive for the de facto repeal of the Bill of Rights at universities was that the welfare of some groups was more important. He goes on to point out that the consequences have been anything but beneficial, even to those groups. Feelings of antagonism have increased. An increasing infantilization or dependency of the favored groups has occurred. etc.

The author cites a number of other interesting recent books, including McWhorter, Losing the Race; Wood, Diversity; Kuran, Private Truths, Public Lies; Farber and Sherry, Beyond All Reason; and Kors and Silvergate, The Shadow University. Kors and Silvergate have continued to be active in the area and have established an organization called Foundation for Individual Freedom in Education (FIRE) with a website, [...] where complaints can be registered. The site makes interesting if harrowing reading. There is also a database in which you can look up any college and get FIRE's rating of the degree of freedom on that campus.

One strength of the book is its narrow focus. That means, however, that other books need also to be consulted. The book is especially weak on the causes or development of the present situtation. The author states that he became a faculty member in the mid-1980s as a result of having written an anti-Nazi book (PhDs looking for faculty positions, take note!). By that time, the situation had already developed. For an eyewitness account in narrative form of the groups and motives that led to the present situation, see The Rape of Alma Mater. For a detailed study of the situation at the present time, one which includes other parts of society that are affected by what is happening in academia, read While America Sleeps: How ... and Indoctrination Are Destroying America From Within -- While America Sleeps: How Islam, Immigration and Indoctrination Are Destroying America From Within .

The present book is unique in sounding a hopeful note and in providing others with the two cases of (limited) success. It is to be hoped that other academics and students will read this book and learn how to take back their own universities.

8 people found this helpful

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Jill Malter

What happened to free speech on American campuses?

Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2005

One would think that American universities would be centers of free speech, where all sorts of views could be stated freely. Well, that hasn't been entirely the case recently. And this book examines some of the problems that have arisen.

I would have thought that the fundamental issues would be simple. Most speech is inoffensive. Some speech is actually illegal (sedition, incitement, or whatever). The line between illegal speech and legal speech may be a subject of debate, but that line exists somewhere. And some speech is in between: it is offensive but not illegal. And those who are offended have plenty of options: they can shun such people, or tell others about their bad manners, and so forth.

As this book points out, once one has rules against offensive speech, not just against intimidation (or worse), that leads to thought control. And there are some examples of what has been happening along these lines.

One spectacular example is the 1993 "water buffalo" case at the University of Pennsylvania. A Penn freshman got in trouble for using the term "water buffalo" in response to students who were making too much noise at midnight outside his dormitory. Although a simple apology from him would have been the most reasonable resolution, Penn made this into a major case. So did much of the nation! The result was not only a victory for the accused student, but the removal of the "speech codes" at Penn. It seems that the speech codes were doomed by the idiotic claims of Penn officials, including the Penn President, that they were merely following due process in the water buffalo case.

Downs describes how speech codes were removed at the University of Wisconsin as well. And there is some fascinating material about the University of California, Berkeley. The campus newspaper ran an ad that offended some people, and then compounded the problem by apologizing for it (offending even more folks). And then, there was a speech by well-known conservative David Horowitz. An assistant chancellor warned Horowitz that he might be shouted down "because the right of free expression also" belonged to those that disagreed with him! I find it incredible that such censorship could be called "free expression." Others were similarly censored just for having "politically incorrect" views. A striking example was former Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who was prevented from speaking to 2000 waiting ticket holders by a couple of hundred foes of free speech. One of these people, when challenged about what she had done replied that she didn't "believe in free speech for war criminals." By the way, given Netanyahu's record, I find such a charge against him ludicrous. And I wonder if genuine criminals, such as Yasir Arafat, would have been shouted down at Berkeley.

One more topic in the book is the sexual misconduct policy at Columbia University. That's another university that has a problem with taking political correctness too seriously. But in this case, the issue was simply that people accused of sexual misconduct were denied due process, including the right to hear the testimony against them or to cross-examine. That policy eventually had to be scrapped. Still, the incident serves to show the moral blindness of some of those who create policies on campus.

I found this book very interesting and I strongly recommend it.

11 people found this helpful

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