Oct. 4 Program Will Explore 'Free Speech, Safe Spaces and Campus Conversations'

September 28, 2018

Two DePauw faculty members and the University's president will join with a journalist and a researcher to discuss First Amendment issues in a program on Thursday, October 4.  You're invited to join in a look at "Taking Offense: Free Speech, Safe Spaces and Campus Conversations," which will take place at 6:45 p.m. in Watson Forum, which is located within DePauw's Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media (609 S. Locust Street).  The event is free and open to the public.

A preview of the program notes, "The First Amendment has long been considered a shield for those who espouse provocative ideas. Now, in the age of Milos Yiannopoulos, Antifa and others, voices on both sides of the political spectrum are calling for limits to 'hate' speech that threatens a sense of emotional security. Indeed, a recent Gallup-Knight Foundation survey found that college students support an open learning environment, but increasingly favor limits on offensive speech. What is an appropriate balance between these competing values?"

Participating in the discussion will be Jeffrey M. McCall '76, professor of communication (media studies); DePauw University President D. Mark McCoy; Cameron Okeke, research analyst, Justice Policy Center, the Urban Institute; and Miranda Spivack, independent journalist and formerly DePauw's Eugene S. Pulliam Center Distinguished Professor of Journalism. The session will be moderated by Deborah Douglas, who is currently serving as DePauw's  Pulliam Professor.

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