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EDUCATION

First Amendment backers see free speech fading at colleges

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    FILE - In this Thursday, April 27, 2017 file photo, demonstrators shout slogans directed at city hall during a rally for free speech near the University of California, Berkeley campus in Berkeley, Calif. Ann Coulter's speech that day was cancelled amid threats of violence, the latest example of a speaker with controversial views being blocked from talking. Since the beginning of 2016, more than two dozen campus speeches have been derailed amid controversy, according to the Foundation For Individual Rights In Education, a group that monitors free speech on campuses. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File) (The Associated Press)

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    FILE - In this April 27, 2017, file photo, Lauren Southern wears a protective helmet as she speaks during a rally for free speech near the University of California, Berkeley campus in Berkeley, Calif. Demonstrators gathered to show support for free speech, while others condemned the views of Ann Coulter and her supporters. Coulter's speech was cancelled. Since the beginning of 2016, more than two dozen campus speeches have been derailed amid controversy, according to the Foundation For Individual Rights In Education, a group that monitors free speech on campuses. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File) (The Associated Press)

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    FILE - In this April 27, 2017 file photo, demonstrators, sharing opposing views, argue during a rally in Berkeley, Calif., near the University of California, Berkeley campus, to show support for free speech and to condemn the views of Ann Coulter and her supporters. Coulter's speech was cancelled. Since the beginning of 2016, more than two dozen campus speeches have been derailed amid controversy, according to the Foundation For Individual Rights In Education, a group that monitors free speech on campuses. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File) (The Associated Press)

Many First Amendment defenders worry free speech is fading as a priority among today's college students.

Speeches by controversial figures have been derailed at the University of California, Berkeley, and several other schools. That has led some experts to declare a free speech crisis.

The chief of the Washington free expression group Newseum says students have developed a new understanding of free speech that doesn't protect language that's offensive to minorities.

The literary group PEN America says some colleges have overlooked free speech as they try to make campuses more welcoming to increasingly diverse student bodies.

Some students who have sought to shut speakers down say they're simply invoking their own First Amendment rights or appealing to higher values.

Free speech backers are urging colleges to take a stronger stance supporting open expression, among other recommendations.