President Trump did something that is long overdue.
On Thursday, President Trump signed an executive order to “encourage” schools to permit free speech or risk losing federal research funding…
American Values Under Siege
Over the last three years or so, we have seen a significant change in how free speech is treated on college campuses.
Part of the experience of going to school, being away from home for the first time, is in being able to discover yourself through debate with people in your own age group.
That has not been happening since Trump won the Republican nomination.
During the primary season, we saw several schools block conservatives from speaking.
As the general election heated up, conservative students were actually being assaulted on campus.
Trump even joked about one student that was hit “very hard” in the face, “but he didn’t go down.”
The President stated this new age of political hate has put American values under siege, and he is right.
The new liberal has decided if you do not agree with him or her, you must pay the price.
The Executive Order
The new order by the President is meant to ensure that free speech is being complied with on any college campus receiving federal research money.
While public universities must already adhere to this condition, private universities can set their own standards.
President Trump stated that if they are not going to guarantee their students’ right to the First Amendment, then these schools would no longer receive a share of the billions of dollars the government currently feeds to research programs.
While the order was signed, the details of the requirements to be met have not yet been finalized.
The thought of those details has spurned outrage by some, and even some pushback within the Republican party.
Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) stated, “I don’t want to see Congress or the president or the department of anything creating speech codes to define what you can say on campus.”
That seems a bit of a stretch, though.
Trump has always been for less government, so it is unlikely the government is going to tell schools what people can and cannot say.
The goal here is to make sure the students are free to express themselves without risking being threatened, attacked, or worse.
Right now, on far too many campuses, if you are a conservative and let it be known, you are putting a target on your head.
This executive order will hopefully change that and allow students to once again debate these topics openly without having to fear for their lives.
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