The nation’s largest group of pro-life students has released an interactive map that illustrates attacks on free speech on college and university campuses throughout the country.
“With the pro-abortion fringe turning to violence, students speaking up for mothers and their pre-born infants face real opposition to the simple truth that we want to love them both,” said Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America (SFLA). “But we won’t be silenced.”
The updated map reflects more than 50 new incidents SFLA has documented since the beginning of the current academic year.
In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that promotes free speech on university campuses. Several SFLA leaders met with the president and his team to discuss their experiences.
“Today, we are delivering a clear message to the professors and power structures trying to suppress, to keep young Americans and all Americans from challenging ridged far left ideology,” Trump said. “People who are confident in their beliefs cannot censor others.”
In an op-ed at Fox News, Hawkins noted the crucial link between university free speech and that in the nation as a whole.
“To protect our Constitutional Democracy, it is vital that we teach the next generation of American leaders that the peaceful expression of opinion is not a nuisance or triggering event, but a fundamental freedom all deserve to enjoy,” she wrote. “Citizens – even students – deserve protections for peaceful speech, especially on school campuses supported by hard-earned taxpayer dollars.”
Hawkins predicted that an America without free speech will become a reality if young people do not respect that right on college campuses.
She said the newly released interactive map is “a picture worth a thousand words illustrating the need for President Trump’s executive order protecting student free speech.”