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A4 U.S. NEWS
Friday 22 March 2019

Trump orders colleges to back free speech or lose funding

By COLLIN BINKLEY emony were students who University of California, said
AP Education Writer said they were challenged many schools are “ground
President Donald Trump by their schools while try- zero” for the exchange of
signed an executive or- ing to express views against ideas.
der Thursday requiring U.S. abortion or in support of “We do not need the fed-
colleges to protect free their faith. eral government to man-
speech on their campuses Trump initially proposed date what already exists:
or risk losing federal re- the idea during a March 2 our longstanding, unequiv-
search funding. speech to conservative ac- ocal support for freedom of
The new order directs fed- tivists, highlighting the case expression,” she said. “This
eral agencies to ensure of Hayden Williams, an ac- executive order will only
that any college or uni- tivist who was punched in muddle policies surround-
versity receiving research the face while recruiting for ing free speech, while do-
grants agrees to promote the group Turning Point USA ing nothing to further the
free speech and the ex- at the University of Califor- aim of the First Amend-
change of ideas, and to nia, Berkeley. He invoked ment.”
follow federal rules guiding President Donald Trump signs an executive order on “improving the case again Thursday, “No matter how this order
free inquiry, transparency, and accountability on campus” in
free expression. the East Room of the White House, Thursday, March 21, 2019, in noting that Williams was is implemented, it is neither
“Even as universities have Washington. hit hard “but he didn’t go needed nor desirable, and
received billions and bil- Associated Press down.” could lead to unwanted
lions of dollars from taxpay- ceremony. “These univer- The order follows a growing Under the order, colleges federal micromanage-
ers, many have become sities have tried to restrict chorus of complaints from would need to agree to ment of the cutting-edge
increasingly hostile to free free thought, impose total conservatives who say their protect free speech in or- research that is critical to
speech and to the First conformity and shut down voices have been stifled on der to tap into more than our nation’s continued vi-
Amendment,” Trump said the voices of great young campuses across the U.S. $35 billion a year in re- tality and global leader-
at a White House signing Americans.” Joining Trump at the cer- search and educational ship,” said Ted Mitchell, the
grants. organization’s president.
For public universities, that Education Secretary Betsy
means vowing to uphold DeVos, who has spoken
the First Amendment, which against a government an-
they’re already required swer to campus speech
to do. Private universities, issues, issued a statement
which have more flexibility that only briefly mentioned
in limiting speech, will be free speech, and instead
required to commit to their largely focused on another
own institutional rules. part of the order dealing
“We will not stand idly by with transparency in col-
to allow public institutions lege performance data.
to violate their students’ The order was supported
constitutional rights,” Trump by conservative groups in-
said. “If a college or uni- cluding Turning Point USA,
versity doesn’t allow you which has pushed for ac-
to speak, we will not give tion on the issue. In Trump’s
them money. It’s very sim- speech, he specifically
ple.” thanked Charlie Kirk, the
Enforcement of the order group’s founder, who has
will be left to federal agen- pushed for action on the
cies that award grants, but issue.
how schools will be moni- On Twitter, Kirk called the
tored and what types of order “historic,” adding
violations could trigger a that while harassment by
loss of funding have yet to campus faculty is not un-
be seen. White House offi- common, “it ends today!”
cials said details about the Several free speech groups
implementation will be fi- raised concerns about the
nalized in coming months. order, including the Ameri-
Many colleges have firmly can Civil Liberties Union,
opposed the need for an which took issue with “the
executive order. Following partisan nature of the ad-
Trump’s speech, Janet Na- ministration’s rollout of this
politano, president of the executive order.”q