Freedom of Speech – Executive Order Links Research Funding to Guaranteed Freedom of Speech: NPR

President Trump on Thursday signed a decree to ban federal research grants to institutions that "avoid creating environments that stifle conflicting perspectives."

At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the president promised to do something about what he called a political climate on liberal university campuses that chilled speeches. Its executive order conditions the funding of research to "respect for the First Amendment" and directs federal agencies to ensure that institutions receiving federal grants for research or education "favor free inquiry".

At the signing ceremony at the White House, Trump specifically called "teachers and power structures" that prevent young Americans from "challenging the rigid ideology of the far left" and lamented that many universities have become "increasingly hostile" to freedom of expression.

"We will not stand idly by and allow public institutions to violate the constitutional rights of their students," Trump said. "If a college or university does not allow you to speak, we will not give them money, it's very simple."

The reaction to the order was mixed. Some said that it was unclear how this directive would be applied in colleges, which already claim to promote free inquiry. Others noted that the executive order was essentially a reformulation of the existing law and that it was missing the hard tone pronounced during the ceremony at the White House.

"The decree essentially forces the federal agencies to ensure that the colleges comply with the requirements already in force," reported the educational publication Inside Higher Ed. "And that does not specify how the application of the". order would work. "

Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, called the decree a "solution to a problem" and warned that it did not provide for any clear measure for implementation.

"This is neither necessary nor desirable, and could lead to unwanted micromanagement by the federal government of cutting-edge research that is essential to maintaining our country's vitality and global leadership." said Mr. Mitchell.

But the National Committee of the Republican College applauded the order. "University campuses are at zero in the Liberal Left's campaign to end Conservative dissent," President Chandler Thornton told Politico. "The executive order of President Trump is absolutely necessary because college and university bureaucrats have absolutely failed to protect the freedom of expression on campus."

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education – a group that supports freedom of expression on campus – was circumspect. "It really strengthens existing principles and law," said Joe Cohn, director of legislation and policy, at the Chronicle of Higher Education. "Of course, the devil is going to be in the details." Cohn said that a new federal bureaucracy devoted to keeping campus speeches in order might not be helpful.

Speaking at the NPR morning edition, Carol Folt, the new president of the University of Southern California, said she still worried about the disincentives on freedom of expression on campus.

"And you hear students say that sometimes they feel like they can not say things," she said. "But it comes from all sides, so we have to work on it, keep it open and allow students to talk in a way that allows for disagreement and quite divergent opinions. [to] always be respected and welcome. "