Schools with a "commitment to freedom of inquiry and expression"

College Search & Selection
1

I recently saw UC Chicago trending for saying that it doesn’t support trigger warnings and safe spots.

When I began to look into this, I found some interesting statements from the Dean. Specifically “Once here you will discover that one of the University of Chicago’s defining characteristics is our commitment to freedom of inquiry and expression” and "Members of our community are encouraged to speak, write, listen, challenge, and learn, without fear of censorship.”

Also one of the article authors said that there was an “ongoing trend at various schools to suppress and hide from opposing points of view”.

This is a very important issue because I am looking for a school that allows students to consider all viewpoints on issues whether or not they are considered to be “politically correct” or are liberal or conservative.

I am doing a lot of college searching right now and this is a factor I would like to look into. How can I figure out what others schools’ policies are on freedom to present opposing views, and to challenge ideas?

2

Not Yale :wink:

Good question. I think larger schools might have more “diversity” but not necessarily more freedom.

3

Most of the UChicago statement is grandstanding for publicity. Almost all schools have said freedom, and any case where it is even slightly challenged is hounded by the media, as we have seen. The reality is that the cases are few and far between for the most part.

What may be more important here is to look at schools with a good range of political thought diversity, which would actually foster discussion. It’s harder to find exactly, so I would just look at schools without it in mind, and then as you find places you like, look into the political makeup and make sure it isn’t all uniform one way or the other.