(Corine Gatti, Headline USA) Just three months into 2023, left-wing students and college professors are working hardcore in stifling free speech on campuses by pressuring administrators to disinvite conservative speakers.
In the wake of rising pressure among extreme left-wing intimidation, universities across the nation have become battlefields for freedom of speech and college administrators are increasingly kotowing in fear to give conservatives the microphone.
Conservative speakers Charlie Kirk, Ilya Shapiro, Riley Gaines, Kyle Duncan, Matt Walsh, Cabot Phillips and Glenn Youngkin all were cancelled to speak at college campuses just months into 2023 — the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression data base revealed. FIRE compiled a comprehensive database to monitor these attempted invasions of rights for both liberals and conservatives — listing the type of schools, secular, public and religious colleges.
The website features a “disinvitation incident” to describe the dissensions on campus that arise throughout the year whenever parts of the campus community demand that an invited speaker not be allowed to speak. FIRE’s Director of Faculty Outreach Komi Frey, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that, “We make a distinction between an attempt to censor a speaker and the actual end result of a speaker not speaking.”
"Nazi scum, off our streets!"
Far-left extremists at @RutgersU hold the flag of #Antifa at a protest against @charliekirk11 & @RealCandaceO. Video by @RebsBrannon: pic.twitter.com/cXDQQguFZL— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) March 21, 2023
The Daily Caller reported that there were 548 attempts to cancel speakers on college campuses since 1998. The annual reports spiked in the last few years in 2016, 2017 and 2019.
The highest number of attempts are in 2023 with 32 attempted disinvitations — an increase of 19 more compared to the year prior. Moreover, a majority of the attempts are coming from left-leaning students with 67% of all attempts having been initiated by leftists while only 28% have been from conservatives.
The latest College Free Speech Rankings in 2022 reflect the bias with Columbia University, which earned an abysmal Speech Climate rating, with the other four universities in the bottom five – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Georgetown University, University of Pennsylvania and Skidmore College – not faring much better.
The University of Chicago was the top-ranked school in the College Free Speech Rankings for the second time in three years, according to the rankings.
