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2018 was a year of relative quiet on college campuses. There was more dialogue, greater respect for faculty free speech rights, and increased tolerance on both the right and the left. @JeffreyASachs explores the possible explanations. niskanencenter.org/blog/the-campu…
Earlier this year, Sachs published a piece arguing that the evidence for a “free speech crisis” was rather thin. He warned against hysteria over the issue and rash legislative solutions. niskanencenter.org/blog/there-is-…
Still, there was reason for concern. In recent years, threats to free speech on college campuses seemed to be on the rise, as highlighted by @conor64. But in 2018, evidence for a crisis shrank to a new low. theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
Sachs cites @TheFireorg’s database to demonstrate that disinvitations are down in 2018. 
One possible reason for this could be self-censorship, or the notion that if fewer political speakers are being disinvited on college campuses, it is because they are not being invited in the first place. More on this from @asymmetricinfo washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-par…
Sachs examines a dataset spanning 18 years of commencement speeches to show that 2018 was largely in line with recent trends. This suggests that a sudden shift toward non-political speakers probably cannot explain the drop in disinvitations.
In fact, he notes, when you look beyond commencement speeches, many campus groups see inviting controversial speakers as a badge of honor. Self-censorship may be at play on college campuses, but the evidence for it is limited.
Another possible explanation is the adoption of new laws or policies. In 2017, six states adopted some sort of legislation designed to protect campus speech. But of the 68 repeat offenders in @theFIREorg’s database, only 2 have been affected by these laws. aaup.org/report/campus-…
The University of Chicago Free Speech Statement (which has now been adopted by 56 colleges and universities) was also influential. Again, though, institutions that have proved to be the worst offenders have not signed on. provost.uchicago.edu/sites/default/…
.@JeffreyASachs is hopeful that the biggest factor affecting the crisis is that a new culture of tolerance is taking hold on campus.
Many of the changes in campus climate are likely due to the efforts of groups like @PENamerican, @thefireorg, and @HdxAcademy, which have been working tirelessly all year to promote dialogue and protect free speech.
And the broader political climate is likely another factor. Students and administrators may be getting tired of the outrage. The culture, tactics, and networks on campus have begun to change for the better, as @JonHaidt predicted.
This does not mean that no problem exists. Threats to free speech, if not a crisis, are at least real. But it may be time to rethink the broader trends, reevaluate our solutions, and to dare to hope that optimism is warranted. niskanencenter.org/blog/the-campu…
Curious to see what @conor64, @mattyglesias, and @AaronRHanlon, among others, think of the piece. Let's get some discussion started!
