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UC Center for Free Speech & Civic Engagement @ucfreespeech

The Center explores the intersection of expression, engagement & democratic learning and considers what can be done to restore trust in the value of free speech

Joined October 2017
  • Tweets 3,407
  • Following 1,096
  • Followers 1,295
671 Photos and videos
🎉 Congratulations to the Center’s 2026 - 2027 class of fellows! This cohort’s research examines topics such as the role of AI in civic education, fostering cross-partisan community and protecting academic freedom. Learn More: buff.ly/03L58ah
Graphic featuring headshots of the UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement's new 2026-2027 Class of Fellows. Across the middle is an orange bar with blue text that reads "Congratulations! 2026-2027 Class of Fellows" and has the blue logo of the UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement.

ALT Graphic featuring headshots of the UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement's new 2026-2027 Class of Fellows. Across the middle is an orange bar with blue text that reads "Congratulations! 2026-2027 Class of Fellows" and has the blue logo of the UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement.

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A federal judge ruled that the U.S. Military Academy at West Point cannot enforce two speech policies that a law professor alleges were intended to suppress faculty speech. ⬇️ buff.ly/SNUxlJi

West Point speech policies paused for civilian faculty by federal judge

U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel called one of the military college's rules a "broad and standardless intrusion" on civilian faculty's constitutional rights.

highereddive.com
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🚨 Our 2026-27 VOICE Initiative applications close TODAY! Get those applications in by tonight at 11:59 pm PT 👇 buff.ly/iguJq9m
A promotional graphic featuring a group of 10 smiling individuals with a dark blue background. White text reads: “Calling all UC students, staff & faculty! Apply TODAY for up to $5,000 in funding for free expression, civic engagement or democratic learning projects.” The VOICE Initiative logo and the UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement logos are included.

ALT A promotional graphic featuring a group of 10 smiling individuals with a dark blue background. White text reads: “Calling all UC students, staff & faculty! Apply TODAY for up to $5,000 in funding for free expression, civic engagement or democratic learning projects.” The VOICE Initiative logo and the UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement logos are included.
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Former Fellow John Wilson explores the relationship between public trust and academic freedom in his column in Inside Higher Ed. Read more ⬇️ buff.ly/XR7ck5h

The Rush to Trust Endangers Academic Freedom

Higher education cannot sacrifice its core values on the altar of trust.

insidehighered.com
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The Yale University Chapter of the AAUP released a report on the state of academic freedom at Yale based on a faculty survey. Explore the report here: buff.ly/PKtmOqZ

The State of Academic Freedom at Yale

A Report from the Yale Chapter of the AAUP — SPRING 2026 This report presents findings from a survey of the Yale faculty on the state of academic freedom at the University. The survey was conducted…

aaupyale.org
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UC Center for Free Speech & Civic Engagement retweeted
UCAdvocacy@UCAdvocacy
Jun 2
📢 UC students, staff & faculty: Apply now for the 2026–2027 VOICE Initiative! Get up to $5,000 for projects on free expression, civic engagement & more. Deadline: June 9 👉 Apply: buff.ly/eAOUkXh
A group of ten people is posed smiling against a blue background. The text "VOICE: Valuing Open & Inclusive Conversation & Engagement" is displayed, with a soundwave graphic. The University of California and National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement logos are in the bottom left corner.

ALT A group of ten people is posed smiling against a blue background. The text "VOICE: Valuing Open & Inclusive Conversation & Engagement" is displayed, with a soundwave graphic. The University of California and National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement logos are in the bottom left corner.
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Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT) held “funeral protests” for academic freedom across Texas campuses. 🔗buff.ly/lQetR4r

UT students, faculty stage mock funeral to protest academic freedom concerns

UT students and faculty staged the mock funeral to protest what they call a "loss of academic freedom," critiquing university decisions on educational diversity.

kvue.com
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🎉 Congratulations to the Center’s 2026 - 2027 class of fellows! This cohort’s research examines topics such as the role of AI in civic education, fostering cross-partisan community and protecting academic freedom. Learn More: buff.ly/03L58ah
Graphic featuring headshots of the UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement's new 2026-2027 Class of Fellows. Across the middle is an orange bar with blue text that reads "Congratulations! 2026-2027 Class of Fellows" and has the blue logo of the UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement.

ALT Graphic featuring headshots of the UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement's new 2026-2027 Class of Fellows. Across the middle is an orange bar with blue text that reads "Congratulations! 2026-2027 Class of Fellows" and has the blue logo of the UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement.

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@ZalRothschild @SachinPendse
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As graduation season unfolds across campuses, so do debates over commencement speeches. Numerous universities have faced campus-wide controversy after canceling commencement speakers. Read more: buff.ly/wz8hhW6

2026 Graduation Season Sees Speaker Cancellations

Planned commencement speakers at Rutgers, Utah Valley and South Carolina State were dropped amid criticism of their past comments.

insidehighered.com
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In the latest Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index, the U.S. was ranked 64th in the world, plunging from 17th in 2002, highlighting how press freedoms have deteriorated over the past 25 years. buff.ly/VJKl187

Press Freedom Hits New Low, U.S. Drops to 64th in the World: Reporters Without Borders

Reporters Without Borders warns press freedom has fallen to its lowest level since the group began publishing its annual World Press Freedom Index in 2002. The index has charted how press freedoms...

democracynow.org
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The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement and When We All Vote shared survey results of over 5,000 young people. Learn how we can work to advance youth civic engagement.👇 buff.ly/1fZ2K5D

The 50 Million: Gen Z’s Power, Priorities, and Participation

THE 50 MILLION: Gen Z’S Power, Priorities, and Participation

circle.tufts.edu
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📣 Tune in to the latest #SpeechMatters podcast episode, “How State Legislatures Are Reshaping Higher Education” with guest Laura Benitez from PEN America. 🎧 buff.ly/nW8ezM3
Graphic promoting the "Speech Matters Podcast" from the University of California National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement. The episode is titled “How State Legislatures Are Reshaping Higher Education.” The left side of the image has a smart phone with the SpeechMatters logo displayed above a podcast player and the right side has the episode name and speaker information with placeholder profile icons on a dark blue background.

ALT Graphic promoting the "Speech Matters Podcast" from the University of California National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement. The episode is titled “How State Legislatures Are Reshaping Higher Education.” The left side of the image has a smart phone with the SpeechMatters logo displayed above a podcast player and the right side has the episode name and speaker information with placeholder profile icons on a dark blue background.

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An investigation by the Cornell Board of Trustees into an incident with the university's president and student demonstrators concluded that students violated “university policies governing expressive activity.” buff.ly/EvwBFmh

Cornell Criticizes Students After Its President Bumps Them With His Car

After the president bumped into students with his car, an investigation by the university’s trustees said that the students’ actions were “inconsistent with university policies.”

nytimes.com
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2025-26 VOICE recipients Kelly Brown and Dean Tyrus Miller are featured for their course Social Media Storytellers: On Academic Freedom, a project funded by the Valuing Open and Inclusive Conversation and Engagement (VOICE) Initiative. buff.ly/HMWLI0L

Social Media Storytellers: Students explore academic freedom at UCI

New undergraduate course trains humanities students to examine what academic freedom means and why it matters

humanities.uci.edu
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2020-21 Fellow Brian Soucek writes about the Report of the Yale Committee on Trust in Higher Education in this op-ed in the Chronicle. buff.ly/f8vLUt5

Opinion | What Makes Yale Think It Speaks for Higher Ed?

The Ivy League university has mistaken itself for all of higher education.

chronicle.com
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Faculty at Rutgers University are divided after the School of Engineering dean canceled the school’s commencement speaker, sparking debate over campus free speech concerns. 🔗 buff.ly/NUgr7uC

Rutgers Faculty Split Over Disinvited Commencement Speaker

The ongoing fight is complete with all the trappings of a campus divided over free speech—petitions, student rallies, faculty meetings, backchannel discussions and administrators’ attempts to quash...

insidehighered.com
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📢 Our 2026-2027 VOICE Initiative Information Session is TOMORROW! There’s still time to register to learn more about the VOICE program and application process from current and former VOICE recipients! 👉 buff.ly/CQZJj0g

Video Conferencing, Web Conferencing, Webinars, Screen Sharing

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom...

uci.zoom.us
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🚨 UC students, staff and faculty – Less than 1 month left to apply! 🚨 Get up to $5,000 for projects on free expression, civic engagement & democratic learning. 📅 Deadline: June 9, 2026 at 11:59 PM PDT 🔗 buff.ly/wF99IXE
A promotional graphic featuring a group of 10 smiling individuals with a dark blue background. White text reads: “Calling all UC students, staff & faculty! Apply TODAY for up to $5,000 in funding for free expression, civic engagement or democratic learning projects.” The VOICE Initiative logo and the UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement logos are included.

ALT A promotional graphic featuring a group of 10 smiling individuals with a dark blue background. White text reads: “Calling all UC students, staff & faculty! Apply TODAY for up to $5,000 in funding for free expression, civic engagement or democratic learning projects.” The VOICE Initiative logo and the UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement logos are included.
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ABC is accusing the Federal Communications Commission of violating the network’s free speech rights. Read more in this article in The New York Times. buff.ly/RmPLdAk

ABC Accuses Government of Violating First Amendment

The network’s argument, made to the F.C.C., is the most aggressive posture taken yet by a television network toward the Trump administration.

nytimes.com
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UC Center for Free Speech & Civic Engagement retweeted
U-M Marsal Family School of Education@UMichEducation
May 14
Associate Professor Demetri Morgan joined the Speech Matters podcast with Dr. Raquel Rall and discussed governance in higher education, including academic freedom, leadership, and the role of governing boards, with Michelle Deutchman of @ucfreespeech. myumi.ch/Axdd4
Promotional graphic for the “Speech Matters” podcast featuring Demetri Morgan, hosted by Michelle Deutchman, with Marsal Education branding and an audio waveform design.

ALT Promotional graphic for the “Speech Matters” podcast featuring Demetri Morgan, hosted by Michelle Deutchman, with Marsal Education branding and an audio waveform design.
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