Report: Free Speech in Disrepair at CUNY

A new report suggests that free speech protections are crumbling at the City University of New York (CUNY).

According to a report from the James G. Martin Center, free expression principles are under threat at CUNY, one of the country’s largest public universities.

Take for example one incident with posters for the David Horowitz Freedom Center, that were placed around campus in 2017. The posters were designed to criticize professors at the university who had expressed support of Hamas.

Sometimes CUNY administrators use more subtle means to undermine free speech. This can be illustrated by Brooklyn College’s response to posters placed around campus by the David Horowitz Freedom Center in 2017. Those posters labeled two of the college’s professors as terrorist supporters, a view that is not only constitutionally protected (because it falls short of incitement) but is also arguably true. (The professors had been arrested while demonstrating in support of a Gaza government led by Hamas, a group designated as a terrorist organization by both the United States and the European Union.)

The President of Brooklyn College (part of the CUNY system), said that the posters were not protected by the First Amendment. Instead, she argued that they were “targeted intimidation” because they were directed at specific faculty members in the community.

In April 2018, Breitbart News reported on a lecture at CUNY School of Law, in which guest lecturer Prof. Josh Blackman of the South Texas College of Law was shouted down by students. Blackman, who was named to Forbes “30 under 30,” ironically intended to give a speech on the importance of free speech on college campuses.

“Fuck the law,” one protester shouted as Blackman tried to speak about court precedents that upheld campus speech rights. “It’s a bizarre thing to say, ‘Fuck the law,’ when you are in law school,” Blackman responded.

The student protesters eventually left the room to ask school officials to shut down Blackman’s speech. Fortunately, Blackman was able to continue speaking to a small group of polite students.

Stay tuned to Breitbart News for more updates on censorship at CUNY.