Staff Reports
Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton has introduced a groundbreaking new bill, the Campus Free Speech Restoration Act that would prevent public universities from restricting their students’ freedom of speech. The Senator believes that too frequently, American universities have become brainwashing facilities instead of places of higher education. This is because liberal ideologies, rather than education, are being forced on students who are trying to learn and make up their minds about different ideas. Campus Reform has reported that the bill would prevent colleges from using unconstitutional speech codes and what are called free speech zones, areas of campuses that are designated for free speech activity.
Tom Cotton Introduces Bill to Defund Public Universities That Suppress Free Speechhttps://t.co/WRBYL3vFxr
— The Daily Fetched (@DailyFetched) June 6, 2023
Senator Cotton believes that the Campus Free Speech Restoration Act would represent a positive step towards restoring the First Amendment rights of students who have been attacked by liberal thought police in publicly-funded colleges. Should this bill pass, public universities that restrict their students’ First Amendments rights would lose access to federal funding. Cotton emphasizes the fundamental principle that colleges and universities should be places of open debate and free speech, where students are exposed to all sides of an issue – even ideas that may not align with their own.
The Senator is not only calling for the protection of free speech on campuses, but also the necessary elimination of free speech zones. Cotton has called free speech zones out and claims that they are usually in isolated, out of the way areas on campus with low foot traffic just to keep opposing views out and shut down debate. He added that universities exist for free thought and open debate, stressing the need to protect and defend these values to prevent students from being deprived of the opportunity to be challenged with unfamiliar ideas and concepts.
The exemplary Campus Free Speech Restoration Act has received tremendous support, with nine fellow Republican colleagues sponsoring the bill, including Rick Scott and Marco Rubio of Florida, and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. Republicans currently make up the minority in the Senate, but Cotton wishes to see more Democratic support as well. Unfortunately, Cotton claims that the progressive movement and the Democratic Party, in particular, are hostile to free speech – so it does not surprise him that bipartisan support is lacking.
Senator Cotton hopes the Campus Free Speech Restoration Act will encourage colleges and universities nationally to reorient themselves back to the basic principles of free speech that are central to our democracy and nation’s founding. As Cotton has emphasized, “protecting free speech and creating a safe space only for open debate is the reason for higher education and should always be at the core of colleges and universities’ objectives.” Hopefully, we too may one day achieve a country where all opinions, thoughts, and ideas are welcome, and thought-control radicalism and political correctness have no place.
