March 21, 2019
Contact:
Oriana Korin
202-374-6103
okorin@aft.org
www.aft.org
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on President Donald
Trump's Executive Order on Free Speech
WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement after President
Trump signed an executive order on free speech on college and university campuses:
“President Trump’s concept of free speech is speech that he agrees with, which is, in fact, the
antithesis of what the First Amendment seeks to protect. He has repeatedly indicated his interest in
‘shutting down’ journalists and media outlets that criticize him, and he uses hateful and many
times inciteful words on a daily and public basis. With a track record like this, there is no reason to
believe that the speech he wants to ‘protect’ on college campuses won’t both suppress speech and
enable incitement. If the framers of the Constitution were alive today, they would tell President
Trump: ‘No, no, no, sir. You can’t use executive orders to suppress the speech of those with whom
you disagree.’
“As educators, we are staunch supporters of a free exchange of ideas, the free expression that is
crucial to intellectual discourse, and the responsibility that all speech must be coupled with an
ability to reject that which will incite hatred or violence. Free and unfettered speech is supposed to
be exactly that—free and unfettered—not subject to executive branch policing and interference.
“This order also sets a dangerous precedent that makes public activities at our nation’s colleges and
universities susceptible to punitive action if they don’t meet a predetermined, purposefully
ambiguous benchmark set by a White House with a very obvious political agenda. When schools are
committed to civilized discussion and debate, we should be investing in more research to defend
those democratic ideals, not denying them resources.”
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.