Campus Free Speech Guide

In response to controversies and debates that have roiled colleges and universities across the country, PEN America has developed a first-of-its-kind online guide to navigating issues of free speech and inclusion on campus. The Campus Free Speech Guide provides practical, principled guidance to students, faculty, and administrators with the aim of keeping campuses open to a broad range of ideas and perspectives.

Highlights include:

• An updated version of PEN America’s Principles on Campus Free Speech
• Step-by-step advice for administrators, faculty, and students related to some of the most pressing issues they face, including academic freedom, diversity and inclusion, and campus protests
• A compendium of sample campus policies related to speech and inclusion, sample statements by senior leaders in response to controversies, case studies with examples of how schools have navigated these challenges, and profiles of useful external resources
• A law section with an overview of statutes and precedents related to free speech at both public and private institutions of higher education

Together these sections contain advice for responding to speech-related controversies as well as guidance for proactive steps to avert such controversies and to nurture free speech and inclusion as essential parts of the campus climate.

This new digital resource has been compiled by PEN America’s Campus Free Speech Project, in consultation with hundreds of university students, faculty, and administrators nationwide. It also draws on PEN America’s extensive research, analysis, and advocacy on campus free speech issues.

Today’s controversies surrounding campus free speech involve not just legal issues but also debates about values, respect, and politics. Our guiding principles in these debates center on a belief that campuses should strive to be open to the most speech from the most people. While there are deep divisions on these issues, PEN America has seen that dialogue across lines of difference can be remarkably effective in mitigating polarization.

Explore the Campus Free Speech Guide here »

To bring PEN America to your campus, contact us at [email protected].

Expert Contact

Jonathan Friedman
Campus Free Speech Project Director
Contact »