Introduction

Free speech on public university campuses is a foundational principle of American democracy with complex ramifications. The First Amendment protects free expression of one’s views, and to assemble and express your views through protests.  To support our students’ fights for what they care about, we have placed a historical example, policies, evidence, and best practices for free expression on campus in this guide.

This guide is meant to serve as a starting point for students and student groups across all three University of Washington campuses to find relevant policies, discover supportive resources, and learn about some of the free speech issues at play today as well as how free speech issues have played out historically. Included are online resources such as websites, reports, and toolkits along with books (available in print and online) from the UW Libraries.

College campuses and libraries must protect the intellectual freedom of all of their users, allowing them to equally and freely access information, form and express their own ideas, and interact with the materials, institutions, and resources that they desire. This guide upholds these principles, acting as a free resource for others’ free expression.

These resources will offer a range of perspectives to explore as well as the larger historical context of free speech on college campuses. We acknowledge that this guide is by its very nature incomplete and a work-in-progress so we welcome your feedback about how we can improve this guide. We encourage you to use these resources as a jumping off point for deeper engagement with what free speech on college campuses looks like, what tensions and challenges are at play, and how as a student you can find support and understanding for how to speak for what you believe in.

Please feel free to explore any resources on this guide! If you have additional resources that should be included or replaced, please contact us and let us know – idlib@uw.edu.

– Joe Lollo, Victoria Rincon, and David Strand – Your Instructional Design Librarians