It’s amazing to me that college students would need to have the basics of free speech explained to them.

Sarah McLaughlin of The FIRE reported.

Oberlin President Discusses Dissent and Censorship Trends on Campus

In a letter to the campus community last week, President Marvin Krislov praised the role of open discourse on campus and warned students that the academic environment at Oberlin College suffers when freedom of speech is stifled.

Krislov noted that Oberlin has, unfortunately, played a role in the growing trend of censorship on campus:

[A]t Oberlin, where we typically applaud the value of free and open discussion and the clash of ideas and views, this national trend has appeared on a few occasions. Audience members who disagreed with a speaker or speakers’ views have disrupted the event with heckling, demonstrations, and in some cases, ad hominem attacks. In most instances, the event has continued after some disruption and delay and after those who created the ruckus departed.

Pushing back against the idea that students should meet offensive viewpoints with censorship instead of debate, dissent, and protest, Krislov advocated for students to share their opinions in a more productive way.