"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech." - Benjamin Franklin

When Michael Bloomberg and Charles Koch agree on something, it's newsworthy. And when the two billionaire businessmen-philanthropists on different ends of the political spectrum write an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that calls out my beloved University of California, Berkeley on commencement weekend? Reading it infuriated me - because they are absolutely right.

"The two of us—who don’t see eye to eye on every issue—believe that the most urgent advice we can offer is actually to college presidents, boards, administrators and faculty... Stop stifling free speech and coddling intolerance."- Bloomberg & Koch in Why Free Speech Matters on Campus

Bloomberg and Koch highlight the University of California's prohibitions on "microaggressions" to argue that the PC Police are eviscerating free speech and critical thought at many American universities. That, they say, poses an existential threat to American democracy.

I used to live in San Francisco and Berkeley before Las Vegas, so I knew what I was getting into at Cal. Still, as soon as I arrived at the Graduate School of Journalism, life started to imitate a South Park episode.

Inside the insular J-School "bubble," I have repeatedly been demonized, patronized and threatened with ostracism - and once even with failing out- for refusing to uncritically accept the PCU-meets-clickbait journalism dogma that some of my fellow students, faculty and dean try to jam down my throat. Don't get me wrong: there are plenty of outstanding students, staff and faculty at the J-School; but many comprise the most narrow-minded, intolerant group of people I've ever been around. Two have even belittled me for reading so many books! It seems to me that ideology and who you know - not critical thinking, healthy skepticism, or innovation - are often what counts around here when it comes to funding, diplomas, and jobs.

"The purpose of a college education isn’t to reaffirm students’ beliefs, it is to challenge, expand and refine them—and to send students into the world with minds that are open and questioning, not closed and self-righteous..." - Bloomberg & Koch

Sather Gate, UC Berkeley in 1964 - cradle of the Free Speech movement. Photo courtesy UC Berkeley Library.

Feeling a tad mischievous/micro-aggressive, I tried a little experiment/ambush last month. I enjoy reading Madeline Dyer, a Cal undergrad who writes a moderate-conservative op-ed column titled the "Voice of Reason" for the school's student newspaper, The Daily Cal. I find her perspective unique and valuable - note how I didn't say I always agree with her, which - as you will read - was exactly my point. I also admire her courage to write such a column in Berkeley - and I value a person's courage far more than I care about their politics. So I posted one of her stories to our J-School class's Facebook page on Friday afternoon. Then I let a couple staff know, and pulled up a chair with a frosty beverage and snacks, laying odds on who would take the bait.

"Though UC Berkeley students largely identify themselves as liberal, the education they are receiving is not truly liberal. Liberal arts are intended to inspire critical thought." - Madeline Dyer

"I just want her to have a reality check," wrote one student, who grew up in multimillion-dollar opulence in New York City and Los Angeles, and attended a Manhattan private school for twelve years (2016-17 tuition $32,950 per year) before going to New York University for a Bachelors in Fine Arts (tuition and fees now over $50,000 per year, not including room and board).

"Take solace in the fact," chimed in another student, "that her life after high school has been and will continue to be one slow-motion reality check."

"But why so slow?" the first replied.

It devolved from there, as numerous students mocked Dyer's religious views, general intelligence, and interpretation of the 1st Amendment. Several of them, a quick public records search showed, also grew up in multimillion-dollar homes. "Leaders of the next generation of journalists" devolved into a virtual mob.

For freedom of speech to function effectively, journalists must convey others' views accurately - something I consistently see lacking.

Who needs the reality check? At this point, I felt macro-aggressive - and protective. As Ben Franklin warned, "Make yourselves sheep, and the wolves will eat you."

"I think many students here confuse political propaganda with doing journalism," I replied. "And I think it's important, though unpopular, to point that out."

"Reality" intrudes - image courtesy of South Park.

Tired of having my critical thinking stifled by these same trust fund lefty classmates for the past nine months - while paying $40,000 in tuition for the "privilege" of listening to them parrot the same broken record - I then ambushed each of Dyer's insulters. Several denounced me as a conservative - including one who attended high school at a $37,000-$57,000 per year New England academy and currently receives a Dean's Merit Fellowship. The J-School called a meeting about it Monday at high noon, where I took pleasure in confronting those who actually showed up, face to face.

The J-School responded the way the PC Police always does - with a bunch of complicated new regulations - "best practices" for Facebook - that further restrict free speech. So I logged off of our Facebook page and haven't been back since.

"UC Berkeley was once a campus where free speech was championed," Dyer wrote in The Daily Cal. "Nowadays, it can unfortunately be crushed." These days the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement often feels like a PCU cross between Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution and the Salem Witch Trials.

It's not just a T-shirt anymore. Photo by the author.

"Across America, college campuses are increasingly sanctioning so-called ' safe spaces,' 'speech codes,' 'trigger warnings,' 'microaggressions' and the withdrawal of invitations to controversial speakers. By doing so, colleges are creating a climate of intellectual conformity that discourages open inquiry, debate and true learning. Students and professors who dare challenge this climate, or who accidentally run afoul of it, can face derision, contempt, ostracism—and sometimes even official sanctions." - Bloomberg and Koch

Outside of the Berkeley bubble, few would consider me conservative: I have never held a salaried job, made my professional bones riding bikes down big mountains stoned out of my mind (before it was legal), and volunteered hundreds of hours to Barack Obama's 2008 and 2012 campaigns. I've lived in my SUV for four and a half years of my life, including the past two semesters, to reduce my student debt. I've even read biographies of Mao, Deng Xiaoping, and Ho Chi Minh. Yet I'm the only "conservative" in Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism - or at least the only one who openly defies the ultra-liberal, PC Police dogma.

"We believe that this new dynamic, which is doing a terrible disservice to students, threatens not only the future of higher education, but also the very fabric of a free and democratic society." - Bloomberg & Koch

Back in 1987, the state funded 54 percent of UC Berkeley's budget. By 2012, after the Great Recession, the state only funded 12 percent. Tuition increases and private funds - philanthropy - has made up the difference. This funding transformation creates enormous challenges and potential conflicts of interest, but it also creates an ironic, decisive opportunity to stand up for free speech. I encourage potential donors - companies, foundations, and alumni - to demand that universities like UC Berkeley, and the Graduate School of Journalism in particular, demonstrate an ironclad commitment to free speech. Until then, consider funding another great cause. Charity Navigator can help.

Toward this end, I also recommend consulting the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education website (theFIRE.org). FIRE rates free speech on campuses as green, yellow, or red. Berkeley is yellow. FIRE uses a carrot-and-stick approach to promote free speech; they prefer to work with schools, but will file a lawsuit on "red" as a last resort.

What is the state of free speech in your part of the world? What can we do about it? Are Koch, Bloomberg, FIRE and I off-base? Recommended reading? Feel free to exercise your 1st Amendment rights below.

This is the second in a series. In What Can a Journalist Learn from Business School? Hint: A Lot I analyzed journalism's failed ad revenue, clickbait, scandal-and-mayhem, feudalist business model.

Jim Rossi is the author of the upcoming book The Case of the Cleantech Con Artist: A True Vegas Tale and serves as LinkedIn's campus editor for UC Berkeley. Read more here. He earned a BA from Rutgers and a MA in History from UNLV, solar energy focus, in 2014 and previously wrote for the Los Angeles Times, Bike and many other publications. His work is tied to LinkedIn’s student editorial calendar.

Yours truly in my safe space - where I can be as macro-aggressive as I like. Photo by Scott Morris.

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