Greg Lukianoff on the Battle for Free Speech on School Campuses

This week, a ‘feminist studies’ professor at the University of
California Santa Barbara was accused of attacking
a 16-year-old female student for opposing abortion with a
graphic pro-life sign. 

The incident is a reminder of the battle over free speech on
school campuses. Watch Greg Lukianoff from the Foundation for
Individual Rights in Education with the New York Times’ John
Tierney for a discussion on FIRE’s ongoing fight against campus
speech codes. Produced by Jim Epstein. About 52 minutes. Original
release date was June 4, 2013 and original writeup is below.

“The U.S. Department of Education just redefined harassment to
make every single man, woman, and child arguably guilty of
harassment in one fell swoop,” says Greg Lukianoff, who is the
president of the Foundation for
Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), which advocates for free
speech rights on campus.

Lukianoff is referring to a
recent letter sent by the U.S. Department of Education and
U.S. Department of Justice to the University of Montana that
redefined harassment as “any unwelcome sexual speech.” The
letter also stated that it’s intended as a “blueprint for colleges
and universities throughout the country.”

Lukianoff joined the New York Times‘ John Tierney
for a discussion of the implications of this letter and FIRE’s
ongoing fight against campus speech codes. Lukianoff also discussed
his recent book, Unlearning
Liberty: Campus Censorship and the End of American
Debate.

The discussion took place at New York City’s Museum of Sex on May 14,
2013, at an event sponsored by the Reason Foundation.

UPDATE: Two weeks after Lukianoff spoke at the event, the U.S.
Department of Educationresponded to the
controversy, claiming that its letter was “entirely consistent with
the First Amendment, and did not create any new or broader
definition of unlawful sexual harassment under Title IX or Title
IV.” Lukanoff responded that the DOE’s “weak attempt to walk back
its disastrous May 9 letter is too little, too late.” You can read
more about the ongoing controversyhere.

In December, Lukianoff sat down with
Nick Gillespie to talk about his book.

In August, Gillespie also sat down for an in-depth
conversation with University of Pennsylvania professor
Alan Charles Kors, who is FIRE’s co-founder. They discussed speech
codes, libertarianism, and much more.

About 52 minutes.

Camera by Jim Epstein and Anthony Fisher, and edited by
Epstein.