Free Speech For Campus, Inc.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT:
July 16, 2024 Tim Higgins; 920-716-8596
tim.higgins@freespeechforcampus.org
Free Speech for Campus Asks UW-System to Enhance Programming in Light of Recent National Events
Free Speech For Campus (FSFC) urges Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman to increase funding for and expand the programming of the Wisconsin Institute for Citizenship & Civil Dialogue (WICCD).
“After the attempted assassination of a presidential candidate, we’ve heard a national call to reduce overheated political and campaign rhetoric and for leaders to focus on issues of national importance. Universities can help that mission. The Universities of Wisconsin have the capacity to develop citizens who engage in civil dialogue and rigorous thinking,” said Tim Higgins, President of FSFC. “That only works in an environment that respects differing views and with a viewpoint-diverse faculty. Students and faculty must face a wide range of views to consider and to explore.”
President Rothman established WICCD to “provide resources, opportunities, and support for teaching, learning, and practicing viewpoint diversity; freedom of expression; academic freedom; civil dialogue; and civic participation” within the UW and the communities that host them.
Free Speech For Campus believes Rothman can lead on these issues by putting enhanced institutional support behind WICCD and by undertaking renewed efforts to support the free exchange of ideas on campuses. Rothman should engage campuses to do more to host a wide range of speakers, incentivize or require them to hire more intellectually diverse faculty, and ensure that all students believe they are treated fairly, regardless of their political beliefs.
Speech For Campus is a Wisconsin corporation established in 2019. It is a grass-roots movement that brings together concerned citizens of Wisconsin to promote and protect free speech and due process rights on our college campuses.
P.O. Box 7461, Appleton, Wisconsin 54912-7461 phone 920-832-9950
https://freespeechforcampus.org info@freespeechforcampus.org
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