Are students still able to speak freely at Butler? Graphic by Marlo Hillebrand.
ANA DOLLARD | STAFF REPORTER | adollard@butler.edu
A chilling realization has rippled through college campuses across the country — free speech is under threat.
Recently, Palestinian activist and Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil was detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and is now actively fighting against deportation. Khalil is a legal resident of the United States with no criminal record. His arrest was justified using a rarely applied provision of the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act, allowing the secretary of state to deport individuals who are “adversarial to the foreign policy and national security interests of the United States of America.”
While most students feel safe expressing their political beliefs with each other on campus, this news presents a broader concern. If a student who was a legal resident can be detained for being a leader in peaceful protests, what are students at other colleges and universities supposed to do to protect themselves?
The free speech agenda for Butler
As hubs for debate, academic discovery and critical thinking, college campuses are institutions at the forefront of the fight to keep free speech alive. Butler is no exception to this rule. In a letter he dictated from his cell, Khalil described how Columbia University “enabled [his] targeting” through their allowing “viral doxxing campaigns — based on racism and disinformation” to spread.
President Trump may have used Columbia as an example of a new precedent of threatening free speech on college campuses. However, this tragedy brings a new opportunity — the chance for universities to set the precedent that free speech can and will be protected for its students.
On March 4, the American Civil Liberties Union sent an open letter to college and university presidents asking them to “encourage robust discussion and exploration of ideas by students, faculty, and staff, regardless of their nationality or immigration status,” in addition to other suggestions for protecting the privacy of their students.
Butler, like many other colleges and universities, has a responsibility to protect the freedoms of its students, including the freedom to speak freely. This university can not only set a precedent for itself, but for all the surrounding communities — students have the right to voice their beliefs, no matter what they are.
As the ACLU explains, “The First Amendment safeguards against government efforts to pressure private universities to stifle their community members’ disfavored speech.” This means that Butler, while private, still has the right to protect its students from any form of government pressure to conform to a certain belief or opinion.
As of right now, Butler University’s policy on freedom of speech is as follows: “Butler University respects the rights of all members of the academic community to express their ideas freely and to demonstrate their concerns collectively by orderly means. Public dialog and debate within an environment that encourages diverse views are vital to the University’s mission.” In a time where the threat of censorship looms, it should be expected that Butler makes this mission a very clear priority.
On March 3, Dr. Khalilah Marbury, vice president for DEI and student affairs, shared a statement developed by the Faculty Senate on freedom of expression and inclusivity that reinforced Butler’s commitment to its values.
An excerpt from this statement stated: “Butler University, founded on ideals of equity and academic excellence, is committed to fostering a vibrant academic community where freedom of speech and inclusion are fundamental principles that guide our collective endeavors. We believe that robust intellectual exchange, respectful dialogue, and diverse perspectives are essential to the pursuit of knowledge and understanding.”
What Butler students can do for each other
As a general rule, expressing political beliefs at Butler is a somewhat safe experience. Of course, there will always be disagreements.
First-year psychology and English double major Jacob Hahn witnessed one of the more contentious moments of free speech at Butler at the epicenter of school activity — Star Fountain.
“I remember first semester, there was this group of people who made this pro-life display out of chalk right next to [Star] Fountain. And, not a day later, someone had taken water out of the fountain and just splashed it away,” Hahn said. “People should be allowed to speak what they believe in.”
Sophomore Ava Like, a member of the Bulldogs for Life club, experienced what the chalk drawing erasure was like firsthand.
“You can advertise your club, you can say what you believe in, but when it doesn’t conform with what goes with society, then it gets vandalized within eight hours,” Like said. “There’s no reason why they shouldn’t be able to coexist peacefully without snuffing out the other side.”
Free speech is not just the freedom to express one’s own beliefs, but also the freedom to disagree with one another. Erasing the statements of a peer, no matter how much someone disagrees with them, is not valuing free speech. It’s destroying it. It also creates a new problem — a lack of understanding and conversation, leaving everyone, no matter what they believe, less safe to express their beliefs
A display that one disagrees with isn’t a reason to remove its existence. But it is an opportunity to start making a new chalk drawing. What if, instead of splashing away the display, the student had instead drawn out a new display with their own belief? What if, over the course of a few days, both chalk drawing parties gained a new insight about the others’? It’s a little out there, but the opportunity for thoughtful discourse has been and will always be an option.
It should be noted that there is a line between speech that incites violence and hate against marginalized groups and speech that people disagree with. Words matter, and there are limits to what people can and should be able to say. With that said, speech that promotes positive discourse should be protected.
First-year psychology sociology double major Noah Malina also said he’s witnessed people being criticized for their beliefs at Butler.
“I do feel like it’s unfortunate that people are criticizing others’ beliefs, even if they’re against their own,” Malina said.
In an era where the threat of deportation looms for those who peacefully protest, there is nothing more important than listening so that one can understand other perspectives. It would be a lie, however, to say that this is an easy feat.
Political ideologies are often attempts to understand the world around us, and the best way to exist in it. When someone has values that differ from yours, it can feel like a personal attack. However, beliefs that are different from one’s own are not evidence of their hatred of your values but rather a different vision of how the world should operate.
Free speech means that people also have the freedom to disagree with one another, but shutting people down because their beliefs aren’t the same is unproductive and not conducive to critical thinking skills or learning.
To disagree with someone in a healthy, productive way, one must have complete comprehension of the other person’s beliefs. The very nature of a healthy disagreement automatically dispels error, as questioning a belief leads to a stronger understanding of it. You never know where the next new insight that leads you to a different, more informed perspective will come from. As long as there is an attempt to open the mind to new beliefs and a drive to think critically, there is an opportunity to develop a new insight.
Most Butler students aren’t immune to empathy. In fact, sometimes this university’s students actually do a pretty good job of it.
First-year psychology major Haley Logan shared her experience of feeling safe to share her beliefs at Butler compared to her high school.
“I went to a really, really small high school, and everybody had very strong opinions that did not necessarily agree with mine,” Logan said. “I [felt like they] were never wrong. And they didn’t want to hear anybody else’s opinions.”
At Butler, however, things went much smoother for Logan.
“I feel like I can talk to people, and even if they [don’t share my same beliefs] they’re still open to hearing other people’s opinions,” Logan said.
Because of its unique size, Butler students can get to know each other on a very personal level. The size of Butler can be both suffocating and cozily tight-knit. In order to maintain the peace at such a small campus, listening and understanding is an imperative. Silencing others’ opinions ruins the civility that comes naturally with having such a small school.
During times when censorship is on the rise, free speech is not just a suggestion, it is an obligation to ourselves, our intellectuality and to each other.
It’s our responsibility and the university’s to ensure that people always have the right to speak their minds.
