Proposed
Charge: Consider the scope and extent of, and limitations on, free
speech in American society in relation to academic freedom at Rutgers.
Recommend appropriate policies for free speech by members of the
Rutgers
community in their personal and official capacities.
Rationale:
Recent changes in national policy regarding immigration and
the deeper evolution of broad public policy divides nationally at our
varied
campuses have given us pause to review the University’s overall
policy
regarding free speech. It is unclear as to what are the dividing lines
between
what constitutes ‘hate speech’ versus active public
expression protected under
1st Amendment rights. Recent events at universities and in communities
all
across the country are testing what is the right balance point. Some
have taken
the position that any views short of hate speech may be expressed, but
that
others may robustly contest them. This raises the question of whether
expressions of abhorrence by officials of the university is itself an
impermissible constraint on free speech. Clarity is also needed on what
is the
balancing point between the rights of students to share their rating of
professors
by their academic expression versus the concurrent rights of professors
to
maintain academic freedom in their instruction. We need at minimum a
review of the
policies of our peer institutions to see how they are grappling with
this issue
and to conduct sufficient research to make policy recommendations to
the
President. It might be advisable to include the School of Law in this
research.
“Attached
for University Senate review and comment are a draft
of a revised University Policy
on Centers and Institutes (University Policy 10.1.5) and the
accompanying guidelines
for the preparation of proposals for the creation of Centers and
Institutes and
for Periodic CI Progress Reports. These documents were developed
with reference
to the March 23, 2016 CI Report prepared by the Committee on Academic
Planning
and Review and shared with the Senate last spring. Please bring these
documents
to the attention of the Senate when they reconvene in the fall. Thank
you.”