Free Speech | Inside Higher Ed

Police and pro-Palestinian protesters face off

Students Free Speech

Group Argues Civil Discourse Push Is Conservative, Pro-Israel

A group of scholars has released another report arguing that efforts to promote constructive dialogue and similar concepts are actually targeting progressive activism. Those named in the report take issue with its assertions.

Student protesters have unfurled a large banner that features the Palestinian flag's colors and reads “When people are colonized, resistance is justified.” More protesters can be seen in the background, some holding signs that say things like “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “resistance against colonization is a human right.”

Quick Takes

Newsom Vetoes Bill Requiring CSU Report on Protester Discipline

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday vetoed legislation that would have required the California State University system to report specifically...

Students hold up signs, one saying "End the Occupation." One speaks into a microphone.

Students Free Speech

2 Years After Encampments, Colleges Revisit Protest Policies

Several colleges are re-evaluating their time, place and manner restrictions on student expression this fall, with some relaxing their rules while others seek to tighten them.

A photograph of an officer in riot gear arresting a protester in the pro-Palestinian campus encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Students Free Speech

Colleges Adopted ‘Systemic Suppression’ of Protesters, New Investigation Shows

Drawing on records, media reports and surveys, the ACLU and Amnesty International USA break down how colleges have “disproportionately” violated the rights of pro-Palestinian students.

People walk on the plaza outside Royce Hall, the site of 2024 pro-Palestinian protests, on the UCLA campus.

Quick Takes

Judge Restricts UC System’s Antiharassment Policy

The University of California system cannot enforce rules in its antiharassment policy against a conservative organization for misgendering individuals, a...

Charlie Kirk, wearing a white T-shirt that says "FREEDOM" in black letters, looks toward the crowd, a slight smile on his face, during a Sept. 10 event at Utah Valley University, where he was later shot and killed.

Quick Takes

University of Utah Drops Investigation Into College Republicans, Apologizes

The University of Utah has dropped its investigations into two College Republicans accused of doxing a fellow student for bringing...

Seven young people stand in front of a blue banner that says "Yale: This Is What Democracy Looks Like" during a Sept. 1 teach-in organized by the Democratize Yale coalition. Two are chanting, one is pumping his fist, and others are smiling.

Opinion

Views

Things Are Doubleplusgood at Yale

The free expression facilitators will not save us.

By Gregg Gonsalves

Palestinian activist, Mahmoud Khalil takes part in “Stop Starving Gaza” march on August 16, 2025 in New York, United States, to protest the killing of journalists in Palestine by Israeli forces and to call for an end to the starvation in Gaza.

Students Free Speech

Khalil Accuses Columbia of Discrimination in New Lawsuit

Mahmoud Khalil and other current and former students sued Columbia University for allegedly failing to protect them from harassment tied to pro-Palestinian protests in 2024.