Overview

Free speech is indispensable on college campuses: allowing varied views and frank exchanges of opinion is a core component of the educational enterprise. But free speech does not mean a free-for-all. The First Amendment prohibits ""abridging the freedom of speech,"" yet laws against perjury or bribery, for example, are still constitutional. In the same way, valuing freedom of speech does not stop a university from regulating speech when doing so is necessary for its educational mission. So where is the dividing line? How can we distinguish reasonable restrictions from impermissible infringement? In this pragmatic, no-nonsense explainer, Cass Sunstein takes us through a wide range of scenarios involving students, professors, and administrators. He discusses why it's consistent with the First Amendment to punish students who shout down a speaker, but not those who chant offensive slogans; why a professor cannot be fired for writing a politically charged op-ed, yet a university might legitimately consider an applicant's political views when deciding whether to hire her. He explains why private universities are not legally bound by the First Amendment yet should, in most cases, look to follow it. And he addresses the thorny question of whether a university should officially take sides on public issues or deliberately keep the institution outside the fray.

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Cass R. Sunstein is the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard and the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. He is the author of hundreds of articles and dozens of books, including Impeachment: A Citizen's Guide, Nudge (with Richard Thaler), Law and Leviathan (with Adrian Vermeule), How to Interpret the Constitution, On Freedom, and Can It Happen Here?: Authoritarianism in America. He is a recipient of the Holberg Prize, sometimes described as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for the humanities and social sciences. Born and raised in Queens, NYC, Steve Menasche is a child of Egyptian and German immigrants. He completed BS studies in percussion from Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music as well as his minor in theater. He was also a student at Manhattan School of Music, Third Street Music Settlement, and American Conservatory Theatre. He has toured the world three times, was a member of New York City's American Folk Theatre for two years, narrated over 250 audiobooks, performed countless voice-overs for major brands, appeared in national commercial campaigns, and continues to perform as both an actor and musician/composer. He previously owned and taught hapkido and jujutsu in San Francisco and continues to teach when his old knees allow. Born and raised in Queens, NYC, Steve Menasche is a child of Egyptian and German immigrants. He completed BS studies in percussion from Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music as well as his minor in theater. He was also a student at Manhattan School of Music, Third Street Music Settlement, and American Conservatory Theatre. He has toured the world three times, was a member of New York City's American Folk Theatre for two years, narrated over 250 audiobooks, performed countless voice-overs for major brands, appeared in national commercial campaigns, and continues to perform as both an actor and musician/composer. He previously owned and taught hapkido and jujutsu in San Francisco and continues to teach when his old knees allow.

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