Cornell University recently sanctioned students who were involved in a protest that disrupted a university job fair. At least fifteen students have been suspended, according to this report.
After the sanctions were announced, a student asked “Why are you punishing students for free speech?” a student asked interim president Michael Kotlikoff after the sanctions were announced. No one is being punished for speech, he explained. Rather, some students are being punished for disruptive conduct. The distinction is important.
This week, Kotlikoff wrote an op-ed for the Cornell Daily Sun explaining the distinction and the reasons for the university’s approach. After explaining university policies, he writes:
no one has been referred for their speech, and free expression remains fully protected at Cornell. But we must understand the difference between protected speech and speech or actions that are designed to suppress the speech and…
