It’s very hard for me not to be pessimistic about the state of free speech in higher education. As president of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), I have first-hand knowledge of just how dire things have been and continue to be on campus.
According to FIRE’s Campus Deplatforming Database, where we log all incidents we can find of on-campus attempts to disinvite speakers from campus, shout down speakers, disrupt performances, take down art exhibits, and prevent the screening of films, 2023 was the worst year on record for deplatforming attempts.
Or, it was until a few weeks ago.
In late November, 2024 officially took the top spot, with 157 deplatforming attempts versus last year’s 156. As of December 20 that number had shot up to 164—and recent shoutdowns of campus speakers, like the disruption of a panel discussion at Pace University, have a lot to do with it. What’s worse, 1 out…
