Chicago principles

Last updated

The Chicago principles, also known as the Chicago Statement, [1] are a set of guiding principles intended to demonstrate a commitment to freedom of speech and freedom of expression on college campuses in the United States. Initially adopted by the University of Chicago following a report issued by a designated Committee on Freedom of Expression in 2014, [2] they came to be known as the "Chicago Statement" or “Chicago principles” as the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) led a campaign to encourage other universities across the country sign up to the principles or model their own based on similar goals. [1] [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Since 2014, a number of other universities have committed to the principles, including Princeton, Purdue, and Washington University in St. Louis. [6] [7] As of April 2022, FIRE reported that 84 U.S. colleges and universities had "adopted or endorsed the Chicago Statement or a substantially similar statement." [4]

Context and formulation

Following a series of incidents in 2014 where students at various schools sought to prevent controversial commencement speakers, [5] the Committee on Freedom of Expression at the University of Chicago was formed and charged by the President Robert J. Zimmer and Provost Eric D. Isaacs in July 2014, to draft a statement that would articulate the University of Chicago's "overarching commitment to free, robust, and uninhibited debate and deliberation among all members of the University’s community." [2]

Statement

The report cited historical precedents by former University presidents, William Rainey Harper in 1902, Robert M. Hutchins in 1932, [Notes 1] Edward H. Levi in 1968, and Hanna Holborn Gray, who was president from 1978 to 1993. The committee returned a report which re-emphasized the school's commitment to principles of free expression as "an essential element of the University’s culture." The report clarified that the responsibility on the part of the university community for maintaining a climate of civility and mutual respect, is not a justification to prevent "discussion of ideas, even if "some or even by most members of the University" find them "disagreeable", "offensive, unwise, immoral, or wrong-headed." [2]

"Narrow exceptions to the general principle of freedom of expression" may include restrictions on "expression that violates the law, that falsely defames a specific individual, that constitutes a genuine threat or harassment, that unjustifiably invades substantial privacy or confidentiality interests, or that is otherwise directly incompatible with the functioning of the University. In addition, the University may reasonably regulate the time, place, and manner of expression to ensure that it does not disrupt the ordinary activities of the University." [2]

The committee wrote that the university's responsibility is twofold, to "promote a lively and fearless freedom of debate and deliberation, but also to protect that freedom when others attempt to restrict it." [2]

Response

The university's commitment to free speech gained national media attention in August 2016, when Dean of Students John Ellison sent a letter to the incoming freshman class of 2020 affirming the free speech principles and stating that the university did not support the use of trigger warnings or safe spaces. [8] In adopting the principles, Purdue president, Mitch Daniels later said "we didn’t see how we could improve on the language." [7]

While the campaign to adopt the Chicago principles has gained traction among private universities, some critics have challenged the cut-and-paste nature of the principles as discouraging active debate on university campuses. [9] [10] Some social reform activists[ who? ] argue that the campaign is a University of Chicago marketing ploy [11] or a way to ignore student activism. [12]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Hutchins defended the right of the students to invite a Communist Party member, William Z. Foster.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Chicago</span> Private university in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The university has its main campus in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression</span> American free speech organization

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), formerly known as the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit civil liberties group founded in 1999 with the mission of protecting free speech rights on college campuses in the United States. FIRE was renamed in June 2022, with its focus broadened to speech rights in American society in general.

The Faurisson affair was an academic controversy following publication of a book, Mémoire en défense (1980), by French professor Robert Faurisson, a Holocaust denier, and the inclusion of an essay by American linguist Noam Chomsky, entitled "Some Elementary Comments on the Rights of Freedom of Expression", as an introduction to Faurisson's book.

Academic freedom is the right of a teacher to instruct and the right a student to learn in an academic setting unhampered by outside interference. It may also include the right of academics to engage in social and political criticism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freedom of speech in the United States</span> Overview of the human rights history in the North American country

In the United States, freedom of speech and expression is strongly protected from government restrictions by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, many state constitutions, and state and federal laws. Freedom of speech, also called free speech, means the free and public expression of opinions without censorship, interference and restraint by the government. The term "freedom of speech" embedded in the First Amendment encompasses the decision what to say as well as what not to say. The Supreme Court of the United States has recognized several categories of speech that are given lesser or no protection by the First Amendment and has recognized that governments may enact reasonable time, place, or manner restrictions on speech. The First Amendment's constitutional right of free speech, which is applicable to state and local governments under the incorporation doctrine, prevents only government restrictions on speech, not restrictions imposed by private individuals or businesses unless they are acting on behalf of the government. However, It can be restricted by time, place and manner in limited circumstances. Some laws may restrict the ability of private businesses and individuals from restricting the speech of others, such as employment laws that restrict employers' ability to prevent employees from disclosing their salary to coworkers or attempting to organize a labor union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Maynard Hutchins</span> American philosopher (1899–1977)

Robert Maynard Hutchins was an American educational philosopher. He was president (1929–1945) and chancellor (1945–1951) of the University of Chicago, and earlier dean of Yale Law School (1927–1929). His first wife was the novelist Maude Hutchins. Although his father and grandfather were both Presbyterian ministers, Hutchins became one of the most influential members of the school of secular perennialism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Association of University Professors</span> Nonprofit charitable organization

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States. AAUP membership includes over 500 local campus chapters and 39 state organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitch Daniels</span> President of Purdue University from 2013 to 2022

Mitchell Elias Daniels Jr. is an American academic administrator, businessman, author, and retired politician who served as the 49th governor of Indiana from 2005 to 2013. A Republican, he later served as president of Purdue University from 2013 until the end of 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PEN America</span> American association of writers

PEN America, founded in 1922, and headquartered in New York City, is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to raise awareness for the protection of free expression in the United States and worldwide through the advancement of literature and human rights. PEN America is the largest of the more than 100 PEN centers worldwide that together compose PEN International. PEN America has offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and since late 2023 also in Florida.

Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program discontinuation. Tenure is a means of defending the principle of academic freedom, which holds that it is beneficial for society in the long run if scholars are free to hold and examine a variety of views.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Zimmer</span> American mathematician (1947–2023)

Robert Jeffrey Zimmer was an American mathematician and academic administrator. From 2006 until 2021, he served as the 13th president of the University of Chicago and as the Chair of the Board for Argonne National Lab, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and the Marine Biological Laboratory. He then served as chancellor of the University of Chicago until July 2022. As a mathematician, Zimmer specialized in geometry, particularly ergodic theory, Lie groups, and differential geometry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Coalition Against Censorship</span>

The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), founded in 1974, is an alliance of 50 American non-profit organizations, including literary, artistic, religious, educational, professional, labor, and civil liberties groups. NCAC is a New York–based organization with official 501(c)(3) status in the United States. The coalition seeks to defend freedom of thought, inquiry, and expression from censorship and threats of censorship through education and outreach, and direct advocacy. NCAC assists individuals, community groups, and institutions with strategies and resources for resisting censorship and creating a climate hospitable to free expression. It also encourages the publicizing of cases of censorship and has a place to report instances of censorship on the organization's website. Their annual fundraiser is called the Free Speech Defender Awards. The main goal of the organization is to defend the first amendment, freedom of thought, inquiry, and expression. NCAC's website contains reports of censorship incidents, analysis and discussion of free expression issues, a database of legal cases in the arts, an archive of NCAC's quarterly newsletter, a blog, and Censorpedia, a crowdsourced wiki. In fiscal year 2017, the organization earned a 95.93% rating by Charity Navigator, an organization that assesses the efficacy of nonprofits.

The Library Bill of Rights is the American Library Association's statement expressing the rights of library users to intellectual freedom and the expectations the association places on libraries to support those rights. The Association's Council has adopted a number of interpretations of the document applying it to various library policies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Safe space</span> Socially safe zone for communication

The term safe space refers to places "intended to be free of bias, conflict, criticism, or potentially threatening actions, ideas, or conversations". The term originated in LGBT culture, but has since expanded to include any place where a marginalized minority can come together to communicate regarding their shared experiences. Safe spaces are most commonly located on university campuses in the western world, but also are at workplaces, as in the case of Nokia.

The Jefferson Muzzle Awards are an award given in the United States by the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression to people who are perceived to undermine freedom of speech. The award categories are: Censorship of Students, Censorship by Students, Efforts to Limit Press Access on Campus, Threats to Academic Freedom and Silencing of Outside Speakers.

The issue of school speech or curricular speech as it relates to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution has been the center of controversy and litigation since the mid-20th century. The First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech applies to students in the public schools. In the landmark decision Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, the U.S. Supreme Court formally recognized that students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate".

The Jewish community of Oslo et al. v. Norway was a case decided by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in 2005.

Intellectual freedom encompasses the freedom to hold, receive and disseminate ideas without restriction. Viewed as an integral component of a democratic society, intellectual freedom protects an individual's right to access, explore, consider, and express ideas and information as the basis for a self-governing, well-informed citizenry. Intellectual freedom comprises the bedrock for freedoms of expression, speech, and the press and relates to freedoms of information and the right to privacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AMCHA Initiative</span> Pro-Israeli foreign lobbying organization

The AMCHA Initiative is a pro-Israel American campus group that seeks to undermine BDS activities on campuses. AMCHA was founded in 2012 by University of California Santa Cruz lecturer Tammi Rossman-Benjamin and University of California Los Angeles Professor Emeritus Leila Beckwith. The term Amcha is Hebrew for "your people" or "your nation."

The working definition of antisemitism, also called the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism or IHRA definition, is a non-legally binding statement on what antisemitism is, that reads: "Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities." Accompanying the working definition, but of disputed status, are 11 illustrative examples whose purpose is described as guiding the IHRA in its work, seven of which relate to criticism of the Israeli government. As such, pro-Israeli organizations have been advocates for the worldwide legal adoption of the definition.

References

  1. 1 2 "Adopting the Chicago Statement". thefire.org. Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) . Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Zimmer, Robert J.; Isaacs, Eric D.; et al. "Report of the Committee on Freedom of Expression" (PDF). uchicago.edu. Committee on Freedom of Expression at the University of Chicago. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  3. ↑ "FIRE launches campaign in support of University of Chicago Free Speech Statement". thefire.org. September 2015. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
  4. 1 2 "Chicago Statement: University and Faculty Body Support". www.thefire.org. 2022-04-05. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
  5. 1 2 "Purdue adopts 'Chicago principles' to protect free speech". chicagotribune.com. 3 May 2015. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  6. ↑ "Opening inquiry | The University of Chicago Magazine". mag.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  7. 1 2 Kingkade, Tyler (2015-05-15). "Purdue Takes A Stand For Free Speech, No Matter How Offensive Or Unwise". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  8. ↑ Grieve, Pete. "University to Freshmen: Don't Expect Safe Spaces or Trigger Warnings". Chicago Maroon. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
  9. ↑ "Against Endorsing the Chicago Principles". InsideHigherEd. 11 Dec 2018. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
  10. ↑ "Freedom of Expression Resolution Based on University of Chicago Statement". thefire.org. 3 Apr 2018. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
  11. ↑ "When "Free Speech" Is a Marketing Ploy". slate.com. 23 Mar 2018. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
  12. ↑ "What University Of Chicago Students Think Of Their School's Campaign Against 'Safe Spaces'". ThinkProgress. 27 Aug 2016. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.