Virginia Foxx: “Freedom of speech and thought on college campuses is essential to one of the most important missions of the university…”

“Freedom of speech and thought on college campuses is essential to one of the most important missions of the university: the search for truth. While censorship can come from the right or left, many colleges and universities are now zealously devoted to advancing leftwing ideas and are willing to disregard evidence and logic to do it. Universities should be a marketplace of ideas, not temples to a single political dogma. When students or faculty speak out against established norms, they are canceled, fired, or otherwise stigmatized by peers and university administrators. This is not what our Founding Fathers intended for our country or for our universities. Thomas Jefferson, who founded the University of Virginia, once wrote: ``I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.'' Universities used to promote this sentiment, but things have changed--and not for the better. Universities should be centers of education, not indoctrination. Yet university leaders either brazenly push their own agenda or walk on eggshells in fear of their own student body. Research and development suffer when debate and discussion are openly rejected on college campuses. Quashing intellectual curiosity hinders every field of study. The freedom to speak and think freely comes from God. Students should not have to sign away their First Amendment rights after enrolling in college, especially if those institutions accept taxpayer funds.…”