• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Film/TV/Stream
  • Republicans
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Men
  • Trans Rights
  • Tech/Science
  • Royals
  • Monkeypox

What President Trump’s Executive Order on Campus Free Speech is Really Meant To Do

Brendan Cantwell March 22, 2019 Leave a Comment

campus free speech Trump

The much anticipated executive order that President Donald Trump issued March 21 to protect free speech on campus is about politics, not policy.

The proof is in the executive order itself. The order implies that campuses that limit speech will lose federal grants. However, the free speech aspects of the order demand that universities to do what they do already.

The order directs 11 federal agencies that make research and education grants “to ensure institutions that receive Federal research or education grants promote free inquiry, including through compliance with all applicable Federal laws, regulations, and policies.”

Public institutions are already bound by law to uphold the First Amendment. And, as First Amendment watchdogs note, most private universities protect speech. Universities are already required to comply with numerous civil rights and equal protection laws to qualify for federal funding.

Political context

The order comes at a time when many of Trump’s core supporters are concerned with what they perceive to be a culture of political correctness in American higher education. In response to these political concerns, Trump first threatened to pull federal research funding from the University of California at Berkeley in 2017 after the school canceled a scheduled appearance by incendiary speaker Milo Yiannopoulos. The president repeated his promise to pull federal research dollars from campuses that do not protect the First Amendment in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in February of this year.

The campus free speech executive order is the president’s attempt to make good on the promise to his political base.

It is not clear how the order would work or be enforced. But if the free speech order is political symbolism, why does it matter? As a scholar who studies the politics of higher education and research funding, I believe the order matters in the following ways.

Mostly about student outcomes

The biggest likely impact of the order has nothing to do with free speech.

The order directs the Department of Education to provide more granular information about student debt and earnings on the College Scorecard. The Obama administration set up the Scorecard to provide information about college affordability and outcomes.

Under the order, institutions will have to give the Department of Education program-specific information about how much their graduates earn and how well they are doing at paying back their student loans.

In this sense, the order is an extension of long-term and bipartisan federal market-based education policy. The idea is that college affordability and student outcomes can help students make better informed choices about which college to attend.

Federal research dollars at stake

The order may also have some potential consequences to scientific research.

In 2017 the federal government spent over US$40 billion on academic research, which supported included studies vital to improving health and public welfare. The University of California at Berkeley, for example, alone received $330 million in federal research funds. Pulling those funds to settle a political score would damage university finances and impede the course of science.

Holding a high standard for speech protection could also have consequences for the president’s base. Liberty University, headed by Trump ally Jerry Falwell Jr., has been cited by free speech advocates as having a repressive climate for free expression. However, in 2017 Liberty won only $120,000 in federal research grants – so it doesn’t have much to lose.The Conversation

Brendan Cantwell, Associate Professor of Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education, Michigan State University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Topics: Daily Resist, Politics More Posts About: Daily Resist, Donald Trump, education, free speech

Related Posts
  • Jan. 6 Capitol riot hearing to focus on Trump pressure on Justice Dept
  • US Capitol riot panel looks at Trump pressure on states to flip vote
  • New US Capitol riot hearings promise fresh drama
  • Chicago Pride Parade steps off for the first time since 2019 amid concerns over future of LGBTQ+ rights

    Chicago Pride Parade steps off for the first time since 2019 amid concerns over future of LGBTQ+ rights

    Published by Chicago Tribune CHICAGO — With rainbow flags adorning the streets around Montrose Avenue and Broadway Street and rainbow-clad people staking claims to sidewalk spots near colorful floats, it became official: The annual Chicago Pride …Read More »
  • Ohio Bill To Require Genital Examination For Athletes Suspected Of Being Trans Advances

    Ohio Bill To Require Genital Examination For Athletes Suspected Of Being Trans Advances

    Published by uPolitics.com A new Ohio bill that would allow for genital exams to be administered if the sex of a student was disputed is being debated by Ohio’s state representatives. Bill 151 is meant for …Read More »
  • Norway court names suspect in Oslo gay bar shooting ahead of Pride gathering

    Norway court names suspect in Oslo gay bar shooting ahead of Pride gathering

    Published by Reuters By Gwladys Fouche OSLO (Reuters) -A Norwegian court on Monday identified the suspect in a deadly rampage at a gay bar in Oslo as Zaniar Matapour, a Norwegian citizen of Iranian origin, as …Read More »
  • Panicked Pride revelers run from phantom gunshots in Washington Square Park

    Panicked Pride revelers run from phantom gunshots in Washington Square Park

    Published by New York Daily News NEW YORK — Fireworks sparked a mass panic in Washington Square Park Sunday, sending throngs of celebrants of Pride weekend scrambling from the area, police said. Thousands of Pride revelers …Read More »
Previous Post: « Temptations Musical ‘Ain’t Too Proud’ Makes a Play for Soul on Broadway: REVIEW
Next Post: Jack Falahee Drops His Shirt to Show Off Two New Tatts »

Primary Sidebar

News

  • Billie Eilish tells Glastonbury fans to scream away anxieties at history making headline slot

    Billie Eilish tells Glastonbury fans to scream away anxieties at history making headline slot

  • Landmark gun-safety bill heads to U.S. House after Senate passage

    Landmark gun-safety bill heads to U.S. House after Senate passage

  • Prosecutors seek 25-year prison sentence for Chauvin over breach of Floyd’s rights

    Prosecutors seek 25-year prison sentence for Chauvin over breach of Floyd’s rights

RSS Partner Links

  • Jodie Sweetin Got Knocked Down By Police At A Pro-Choice Protest In Los Angeles
  • OMG, LISTEN TO THIS: Kim Petras ‘Treat Me Like A Slut (Sampladelic ‘Slutty’ Extended Mix)’
  • Kanye West Made A Surprise Appearance At The BET Awards Last Night
  • Ben Affleck’s 10-Year-Old Son Backed A Lamborghini Into A BMW
  • OMG, quote of the day: Anderson Cooper says Richard Gere helped him realize he was gay
  • Amy Schumer Says She Fired Her Doula For Being Too Beautiful
  • OMG, PAPPED! Hosted by Robin Thicke being THICC on a yacht

Most Recent

  • UAE children magazine retracts ‘gay issue’ after outcry

    UAE children magazine retracts ‘gay issue’ after outcry

  • Chicago Pride Parade steps off for the first time since 2019 amid concerns over future of LGBTQ+ rights

    Chicago Pride Parade steps off for the first time since 2019 amid concerns over future of LGBTQ+ rights

  • Ohio Bill To Require Genital Examination For Athletes Suspected Of Being Trans Advances

    Ohio Bill To Require Genital Examination For Athletes Suspected Of Being Trans Advances

  • Norway court names suspect in Oslo gay bar shooting ahead of Pride gathering

    Norway court names suspect in Oslo gay bar shooting ahead of Pride gathering

  • Panicked Pride revelers run from phantom gunshots in Washington Square Park

    Panicked Pride revelers run from phantom gunshots in Washington Square Park

  • Pink tells fans who support abortion ruling to never listen to her music again

    Pink tells fans who support abortion ruling to never listen to her music again

  • U.S. Supreme Court endorses football coach’s on-field prayers

    U.S. Supreme Court endorses football coach’s on-field prayers

  • Turn UP VOLUME  To Feel A Bit Better: Olivia Rodrigo And Lily Allen Dedicate F*** You Song to 6 Justices Of The Supreme Court At Glastonbury  Festival

    Turn UP VOLUME To Feel A Bit Better: Olivia Rodrigo And Lily Allen Dedicate F*** You Song to 6 Justices Of The Supreme Court At Glastonbury Festival

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy
[towleroadmr] [towleroadtn]

Footer

Copyright © 2022 · Log in