NYCLU Warns Barnard College New Faculty Speech Policy Violates Academic Freedom
Audrey Sawyer | 04 January 2024 | Davis Vanguard
NEW YORK, NY — An incoming policy that requires departments to submit the content of their websites for review and approval by the Office of Provost was recently implemented at Barnard College, but the New York Civil Liberties Union said in a letter sent to Barnard College President Laura Rosenbury that it has concerns.
The NYCLU wrote, “Such ‘prior restraint’ flies in the face of both free speech principles and academic freedom and comes at a time when many universities face public pressure to limit what research, teachings, and discourse are acceptable on campuses.”
“If private campuses decide that they can stifle political discourse they don’t approve of, then schools are no longer a haven for debate, discussion, and learning,” said Donna Lieberman, Executive Director of the New York Civil Liberties Union.
Lieberman added, “Barnard’s new review process stifles the give and take of political and academic scholarship and is a flagrant example of ‘prior restraint,’ the most restrictive kind of censorship because it curtails speech before it is uttered….