Conversation with President Pullin & Lee Tyner

I had the pleasure of meeting with President Daniel Pullin and TCU General Counsel Lee Tyner in order to share with them how I was studying free speech culture at TCU, to tell them about my project findings, as well as get their outlook on free speech at TCU. We all agreed that free speech is necessary in society and especially in the classroom. TCU is a private institution and does not legally have to abide by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, but TCU makes policies that guarantees students and faculties the right to free speech as well as academic freedom. We talked about how the regulation of speech is not good for anyone. One example presented was that many social justice advocates are critical of institutions and the government for allowing “hate speech” or “offensive words.” However, regulation would likely lead to these people being unable to voice their opinions.

President Pullin noted how TCU has an open campus culture when it comes to being open to different ideas, especially when compared to many other colleges and universities. He mentioned how speakers with different ideologies have come to campus, including Dr. Cornel West and Charlie Kirk, as well as the hosting of a drag show. The Religion Department hosted Dr. West (among others) and the Women and Gender Studies Department put on the drag show performance, while students in the TCU Turning Point USA club put on the Charlie Kirk event.

When discussing the fact that many students censor themselves in the classroom, Mr. Tyner brought up one explanation as a lack of experience in articulating opinions. They both stated that college is a very formative time in an individual’s life, and being exposed to more thought over the course of the four years will lead to more confidence to speak up. Essentially, making use of one’s free speech comes with maturity, and they speculate that seniors are more vocal in classes than freshman. What I have found from interviews with students is that students generally feel more comfortable expressing their views when the professor has not expressed theirs. Both did not find too much issue with professors sharing their views. They think that this allows for more critical thinking to occur for students.

Another topic we discussed was TCU’s policies regarding free speech. While FIRE did not list TCU on their rankings, they graded TCU’s policies as a yellow light school. Both President Pullin and Mr. Tyner seemed satisfied with this ranking. They feel their execution with these current policies is carried out well.

Overall, these leaders believe that TCU does a good job creating a campus culture of free discourse. I would like to make TCU even more open to the free exchange of ideas, where all students feel their thoughts are accepted and heard.

Interview with Dr. Knight

Dr. Knight is the new Director of the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development. She feels that free speech is very important. Dr. Knight has been at TCU for 30 years, and she has seen a variety of factors affect discussion in the classroom. Not only has she seen differences in student behavior in class over the years, she’s also noticed how classroom layout has a huge effect on student discussion. When the classroom is in a lecture hall, there is less discussion because there are more people and it is harder for students to look at their peers when they are speaking since everyone is facing one direction. She noted that students tend to speak up more when there is more light in the classroom, the seating is set up to see everyone, and there are less students in the class. This environment welcomes discussion more, and it is an important aspect to think about that had not come up before.

Dr. Knight tries to be cognizant of cultural language. While she tries not to censor, she also does not want to offend anyone. In teaching child development, there are many distinct differences when it comes to boys and girls. However, it is difficult because culture has been changing faster than the textbook and material. Another example of cultural language is addressing the autism community. Generally, adults with autism prefer to be called “autistic,” while parents of autistic children prefer “children with autism.” There is difficulty in having awareness for what everyone wants and how to address them, which is an interesting subject regarding free speech. Overall, the conversation with Dr. Knight brought up new aspects that relate to the comfort of using one’s voice in the academic setting.

Interview with Aimee Garibay

Aimee Garibay just finished her sophomore year and took many core classes this past semester. She feels that much of what her professors taught went beyond curriculum and more into their opinion. Many of her instructors have been very loud about their opinions, including announcing what political party they belong to. Aimee feels uncomfortable expressing opposite opinions and that her thoughts will not be appreciated or taken well. Since professors have control over grades, she fears that expressing differing opinions will be taken out on her grade. She acknowledged that humans have bias, and grading can be very subjective, especially in essay assignments. If the professor feels so strongly in their views that they flat out say it, it is very understandable to think that opposing views may be accepted. There is less balance of different ideas being exchanged in her academic setting. Aimee described how this teaching style results in a class discussion version of a mob mentality, which makes her feel that she would be ganged up on if she expressed a different view. She does not want to create conflict or have people get the wrong idea about her. It is hard because even in a class when her grade is dependent on participation, she feels like she cannot say what she really thinks. This pressure to censor comes from both the professor and her peers.

Aimee has expressed frustration that so much content is being politicized. Not only that, she has felt that facts have been twisted to uphold a certain narrative. In one of her classes, the subject of gun control came up. Her professor, who is also a counselor, said that mass shooters do not have mental illness and that the problem lies with guns. There was no discussion about why this may not be the case, or even that there is more to the story than this statement. Aimee questions where the curriculum ended and where the professor’s opinions began. Misleading information about an ideology has been said and without discussion to correct or offer a different opinion, a bigger divide is created. Aimee said that this is a free country and that everyone can do or think what they want, and she is open to learning different perspectives. She was taught to respect others and their views, unfortunately that is not always necessarily reciprocated. Aimee gets frustrated by how others believe that what they think is the only correct way.