Who gets free speech? Battle for diversity on Wisconsin campuses.
The fight for free speech and racial equity is on at Wisconsin college campuses. Republicans look to defund university diversity efforts after claiming there is bias against conservative speakers.
University of Wisconsin-Madison students hold up signs protesting racism on campus during a meeting on campus in Madison, Wisconsin, Dec. 11, 2015. The debate over free speech and racial equity on Wisconsin's college campuses is intensifying.
Amber Arnold/Wisconsin State Journal/AP/File
Madison, Wis.
The fight over racial equity and free speech on Wisconsin college campuses is intensifying, mirroring a national battle as Republicans work to close campus diversity offices and demand students and faculty treat conservative speakers with respect.
In just the past two weeks, the state鈥檚 top Republican announced a push to defund the University of Wisconsin System鈥檚 diversity efforts 鈥� a move the Democratic governor lambasted as ridiculous. A student from UW-Madison posted racial slurs online, triggering bitter protests but no announced discipline. And a state medical college canceled a diversity symposium featuring Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson out of concerns the discussion would be too disruptive, resulting in cries of bias from conservatives.
Amid that backdrop, Republican legislative leaders are set to hold a hearing Thursday with only invited speakers to discuss 鈥渉ow the lack of free speech and intellectual diversity on college campuses affects the quality of higher education.鈥� The speakers include John Sailer, policy director at the National Association of Scholars, a conservative group that advocates against diversity policies, and Tim Higgins, a former UW regent appointed by former Republican Gov. Scott Walker.
鈥淚 think people are talking about viewpoint diversity as being as important or more important than other types of diversity,鈥� said Republican Rep. David Murphy, chairman of the state Assembly鈥檚 colleges committee, who will preside over the hearing. 鈥淎nd I think [diversity efforts aren鈥檛] showing any benefits.鈥�
Paulette Granberry Russell, president of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, said it鈥檚 disheartening to see a hearing on free speech with only invited speakers. She said the GOP is trying to paint diversity offices as giving minorities an unfair advantage when they鈥檙e only trying to help everyone understand a broad range of perspectives.
鈥淐ontrary to those opposed to these offices, our work includes protecting free speech,鈥� she said.
Republicans argue that diversity offices, designed to help minorities navigate academia, only heighten racial tensions. And the GOP has maintained for years that colleges don鈥檛 give conservative presenters the same opportunities as liberals to speak on campus.
A survey released in February by the UW System, which includes 13 four-year schools, found almost half of the students who responded at least somewhat agree that administrators should bar controversial speakers if some students find the message offensive.
The issues have bubbled to the forefront this month, starting with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos鈥� announcement last week that he wants to defund campus diversity offices. He called the offices a waste of taxpayer dollars and said they exacerbate the racial divide.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has called Mr. Vos鈥� proposal 鈥渞idiculous,鈥� but Mr. Vos鈥� plan tracks with a national GOP push to dismantle campus diversity offices.
Republican lawmakers in at least a dozen states have proposed more than 30 diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in higher education, according to an analysis by The Associated Press using the bill-tracking software Plural. Some proposals would ban DEI offices or any funding for them. Others would forbid administrators from considering diversity as part of the hiring or admissions process.
Around the same time as Mr. Vos鈥� announcement, a white UW-Madison student posted a racist screed online in which she said she wants to see some Black people enslaved so she can abuse them. The post triggered two days of protests on Wisconsin鈥檚 flagship campus, with students demanding the student be expelled. University officials condemned the posting but said they can鈥檛 take action against legal free speech.
Meanwhile, officials at the Medical College of Wisconsin decided to cancel Friday鈥檚 campus symposium focusing on 鈥渢he uses and abuses鈥� of government-sponsored diversity programming on college campuses and in medical, science, and tech education.
The college鈥檚 president, John Raymond Sr., sent a message on May 4 to students and staff saying he canceled the symposium because discussions about the event have become 鈥渦nacceptably disruptive.鈥� Mr. Raymond issued the message on the same day as one of the UW-Madison protests.
Mr. Johnson was slated to take part in the symposium along with Mr. Sailer, who posted a copy of a letter that faculty sent to Mr. Raymond on April 30 saying they opposed the 鈥減seudo-academic and potentially harmful meeting.鈥�
鈥淒iscourse that is politically motivated and not rooted in evidence adds nothing to the MCW learning community and makes our learners feel unsafe,鈥� the letter said.
Mr. Sailer tweeted that the letter was a 鈥渢extbook hecklers veto.鈥� Mr. Johnson鈥檚 office said the symposium will now be held online, but the senator said in a statement that he hopes to meet with medical college leaders to discuss why they felt they couldn鈥檛 host the event.
This story was reported by The Associated Press.