EDITORIAL BOARD: Defend Free Speech on Campus
Recently, activists on campus have called for the firing of Cornell Law School Professor William Jacobson and Chemistry Professor David Collum due to their comments regarding the Black Lives Matter movement and policing, respectively. The targeting of two of the only openly conservative and libertarian professors at Cornell is a reflection of the broader societal push to silence dissenting opinions. As one of the greatest academic institutions in the world, Cornell must serve as a bastion of freedom of speech and the exchange of ideas. It is only through debate and discussion that a society can address problems and find solutions. It is not appropriate for Cornell to censure or fire professors over their speech, which falls well within the boundaries of the protections of the First Amendment. Such a decision would hinder students’ quality of education across the university’s colleges, four of which receive public funding. We abandon freedom of speech at our own peril.
*This statement was written by Joe Silverstein (Editor in Chief), Samuel Kim (Managing Editor), Amber Li (Campus Editor), Roland Molina (Treasurer), and Quinn Otto-Moudry (Digital Editor).
