The First Amendment is a deeply revered part of our constitutional heritage, but the right to free speech has never been entirely without legal limits. And these limits have always been contentious.

Still, why is free speech so particularly contentious on college campuses? And why has the issue come to such prominence just lately? Across the country, charges and counter-charges have proliferated in this area, with students, faculty, and staff often bitterly divided about matters such as the invitation of speakers, the activities of student organizations, and even classroom materials, lectures, and teaching methods.

Our lead essayist this month is Greg Lukianoff of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. He charges that the federal government is partly to blame for the troubled recent history of free speech on college campuses, while noting that students themselves have often requested - and received - strict limits on the speech of their peers.

Are these genuine problems? If so, what is their scope, and what is to be done? Joining us this month are Eric Posner of the University of Chicago Law School and Catherine J. Ross of George Washington University Law School. Each will reply to Lukianoff in turn, and a discussion will follow through the end of the month. We hope you’ll join us and comment as the issue progresses.