President Donald Trump signed an executive order backing free speech on campus Thursday.
The order threatens to cut funding from universities if the institutions do not agree to protect free speech, according to a report from The Associated Press.
Although public universities are already required to uphold the First Amendment, which promises freedom of speech, this order will leave it to federal agencies that award grants to enforce it, according to AP.
Three members of the UF chapter of Young Americans for Freedom, including current president Sarah Long, attended Trump’s signing of the order in Washington D.C.
“It’s good that the president is standing up and saying, ‘Hey, there is an issue of free speech on university campuses,’” Dylan Finucan, the UF Young Americans for Freedom campus lecture director, said. “If these campuses want to be funded, they have to honor their commitment to free speech.’”
Fincan said although free speech is already apparent on campus, the group often meets hostility and discrimination against its viewpoints. This order may help the university’s commitment to free speech, he said.
“You can’t executive order students to be respectful towards free speech,” he said.
This order comes after UF Young Americans for Freedom filed a lawsuit against UF in December for violating the group’s freedom of speech, said Tyson Langhofer, the director of the Center for Academic Freedom. The lawsuit was filed following UF Student Government’s denial of funds for two speakers the chapter had requested: Andrew Klavan and Dana Loesch.
The suit has progressed to a potential resolution after discussion with the university council, Langhofer said. It may bring about changes to the SG budget process, with group leaders and lawyers speaking with UF to revise the budget and allocations process.
“It appears that we are going to be able to work it out, and I’m pretty confident,” he said. “I’ve been very pleased with and thankful for the cooperation of the university in this.”
UF issued a statement regarding the executive order, stating that as a public institution it is committed to upholding the right to free speech from all points of view.
The statement describes universities as a marketplace of ideas and holds that all viewpoints must be a part of the broader conversation.
“Diversity on the UF campus includes diversity of thought, and every member of the university community benefits from the free exchange of ideas,” the statement read.
Hannah Beatty contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order on "improving free inquiry, transparency, and accountability on campus" in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, March 21, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
