On the heels of the release of a system-wide free speech survey, UW System President Jay Rothman sat down with a bipartisan panel of free speech experts Wednesday to discuss the results and what university leaders can do to promote civil dialogue on campuses.
OSHKOSH, Wis. -- On the heels of the release of a system-wide free speech survey, UW System President Jay Rothman sat down with a bipartisan panel of free speech experts Wednesday to discuss the results and what university leaders can do to promote civil dialogue on campuses.
The 97-page report summarizing the survey results was released Wednesday afternoon.
The survey sparked controversy when it was first announced in 2021 as some said it wouldn't be useful. It was originally scheduled to go out to students last spring, but was postponed until the fall 2022 semester.
It asked students from each UW System campus about free speech issues facing their communities, from questions about their familiarity with the first amendment to their comfort level with sharing opinions in class and their thoughts on having controversial speakers on campus.
A majority of students said that faculty create an atmosphere supportive of freedom of expression in their classrooms.
"I tell all the students you leave your politics out front, and I will leave mine out front as well," said University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor Ryan Owens. "We're going to have a discussion and I want everybody to be able to say what they want to say in here and don't worry about the consequences from me."
However, more than half of respondents said they don't feel comfortable sharing their opinions on a controversial topic in class, even if they want to.
One in three students said administrators should dis-invite public speakers if some students find the speaker's message offensive.
"I think we have a problem where some people believe that it's alright to use the university to stop speech with which they disagree," Owen said. "I think universities have to take a concerted effort to say, 'No, that's not what we're going to do here.'"
"I think students are within their rights to protest speakers," said Dr. Franciska Coleman, an assistant professor at UW-Madison's Law School. "I think the problem is that universities don't have a process for making sure it's not just a squeaky wheel, right, it's two students and the speaker is disinvited."
Some panelists also pointed out the results showed stark differences in responses based on political views.
"The difference in how students feel on campus, whether they are conservative or liberal, that is probably the most dramatic difference in the results that are here in the survey," said Rep. Dave Murphy, R-Greenville.
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