Troy

Much of the fretting about intolerance toward free speech on college campuses focuses on students — those supposed millennial snowflakes who don't want their feelings bruised. But sometimes the kids are all right and it's the administrators who want to quash inconvenient opinion.

That's been the case at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where the administration of President Shirley Ann Jackson has been trying to silence students upset by changes to the Rensselaer Union.

No, the fight isn't about civil rights or some other issue with broad societal implications. But the independence of the student-run union is important to many who attend RPI, and they should be free to express their objections loudly and frequently.

Yet when student Bryan Johns, following the guidelines set forth in the school's handbook, applied to hold a peaceful demonstration on the Troy campus during this weekend's homecoming celebration, the school denied the request.

Administrators claimed the protest would be disruptive and would stretch the school's ability to ensure security, given that the campus will be crowded this weekend.

Well, protests are supposed to be a bit disruptive. And protesters, you know, generally want people around to hear them.

The school's real motivation may have become clear early Friday morning, when the administration removed all the "Save the Union" posters from campus under the cover of darkness.

Interesting. Were the posters also a security threat? Or did officials not want arriving alumni to see that much of the campus was angry with Jackson?

I'm going with option two.

The controversy earned RPI a rebuke from a group devoted to protecting collegiate free speech. In a letter to Jackson, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education said the school is guilty of "unacceptable encroachment" on free speech and assembly rights.

While FIRE conceded that private institutions are not bound by the First Amendment, it found "a disconcerting pattern" of silencing protest at RPI despite the school having explicitly promised to protect student expression.

I'd add that colleges and universities have a special obligation to respect and promote free speech — and now more than ever, because it's under attack with an intensity that threatens the country's future.

On campuses, conservative speakers are routinely greeted by "shout downs" and even thuggery — behavior that is supported by more students than you might expect.

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A recent report by the Brookings Institution noted that 51 percent of surveyed college students said "shouting so the audience can't hear" is an acceptable way to confront a controversial speaker.

So much for reasoned debate.

Meanwhile, 44 percent said the First Amendment does not allow so-called hate speech. (It does.) And 19 percent said violence is an acceptable way to silence speech. (It isn't.)

The survey is frightening, and it led Brookings to say that "college faculty and administrators have a heightened responsibility to do a better job at fostering freedom of expression on their campuses."

Brookings should FedEx the report to Shirley Ann Jackson.

It would be reassuring if disrespect for speech were limited to students who will presumably wise up with age. Or if it were limited to one side of the political spectrum.

That isn't the case. It's widespread. We even have First Amendment ignorance emanating from the White House.

"It's frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want," President Donald Trump said Wednesday with his familiar malice toward constitutional order.

Sorry Mr. President, but members of the press and all other Americans are free to say what they want about their government. The First Amendment is beautiful and wonderful and inspiring, not disgusting. It gave Trump the freedom to pound away at Barack Obama all those years and it gives every bumpkin the right to do the same to Trump now.

Journalists should strive to be fair and accurate, but government doesn't decide what's allowable. That's how they do it in fascist countries. Here, it's our commitment to messy free speech that keeps us free — which is why it is so troubling to see that commitment wavering.

But let's end with a hopeful scene.

RPI students refused to be silenced. Late Friday afternoon, hundreds gathered behind temporary fences that kept the sounds of dissent away from a black-tie gala being held for school VIPs.

The fences were odd. Was the administration that worried about a little criticism?

The students grew tired at being penned in like farm animals. They burst through the fencing and eventually streamed onto a grassy quad within view of arriving VIPs.

The protest was impassioned but respectful. The students didn't interrupt the gala but made sure they were seen and heard. The supposed snowflakes showed their grit and free speech won the day.