OPINION: UF’s free speech crisis, and why it matters for USF The Crow’s Nest at USF St. Petersburg – The Crow’s Nest

Pictured above: SamuelRechekisthepresident of First Amendment Forum, a student organization at USF that is committed to promoting the value of free speech on campus.

Courtesy of SamuelRechek

By SamuelRechek

Inrecent years, the Halloween season hasbecomeasourceof debatessurroundingfreedom of speech, offensivecostumesand university restrictions.This Halloween season, the University of Florida(UF)is playing host to adifferentkind offreespeech controversy.

On Oct.29,theNew York Timesbroke astoryabout threeUF professors who weresupposed toserve as expert witnessesin a lawsuit againstFlorida Senate Bill(SB)90,whichenacted new restrictions on Floridas vote-by-mail and ballot drop-offprocedures.

When voting rightsadvocatesfiled alawsuitagainstSB90, UFprofessors Sharon Austin, Michael McDonald, Daniel Smith and Jeffrey Goldhagenwereaskedtoserve as expert witnesses inthelawsuitbut were denied permission by university administration.

UFsinitialjustificationfor this denial was that the testimony would pose a conflict of interest to the executive branch of the State of Florida.

ButonOct. 31,the university changed itsposition, arguing that it denied the professors requests becausesomewerebeing compensatedand because the testimony would be harmful to UFs interests as a Florida institution.

UFs denial of its professors requests to testify violatesboth its institutional commitment toacademic freedomand the professors legal right to freedom of expression.

Inastatementon Nov. 1,UFPresident Kent Fuchs and Provost and Senior Academic Affairs Vice President Joe Gloverasserted thatUF standsfirmly behinditscommitment to uphold our most sacred right as Americansthe right to free speechand to faculty members right to academic freedom.

Butprecedent emanating fromsimilar disputessuggests thatUFfailedto recognize whatitscommitment entails.

According tothe U.S. Supreme Court, academic freedom isa special concern of the First Amendment, and it protectsthe right of students and teachers at educational institutions to freely conduct academic investigationwithout fear of government interference.

The First Amendments most famous metaphor, the marketplace of ideas, rings most true on college and university campuses, but only if academic freedom safeguardstherobust exchange and debate of ideas.

There are limits to this principle,however.

For example, if a government employeeis actingwithin the scope of their job dutiesor speaking publicly in a way that interferes with their employers operations, they can besubject to some limitations.

To see the situation at UF asfalling withinsuchexceptions is toseverely misunderstandthe facts.Voting rights concerns are surely a matter of public interest, and it is not clear at all how speaking against one state law impedes UFs ability to operate efficiently.

InLane v. Franks, theSupremeCourt ruled that public employees havethe very rightthat these professors were attempting to exercise: Truthful testimony under oath by a public employee outside the scope of his ordinary job duties is speech as a citizen for First Amendment purposes. Even if this testimony includes information relating to or obtained as a result of the job duties,this protection still applies.

Given this legal background, it would have beencostlyfor UF to justify its action against these professors.In all likelihood, the courtswouldlikelyhavecome down on the side of free speech.

Buton Nov. 5, UFrecognizedits mistake.Fuchs released anotherstatementindicating that he had asked the relevant offices to reverse the decisions on recent requests by UFemployeesto serve as expert witnessesand to approve the requests regardless of personal compensation.

UF has a good reputation when it comes to protecting expressive rights on campus. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), givesUF agreen lightformaintainingno restrictivespeechpolicies.

By comparison, the University of South Florida is a yellow lightinstitution.

Perhaps itis because of this good reputation that thisbreak in characterhas attracted national attention.

However, I thinkthe attention around this controversy also stems fromFloridasmaking a name for itself in the national free speech debate.

In 2021,the Republican-majoritystate legislature passed three bills that touched on First Amendment issues, includingHB1,HB233andSB 7072, regulating protest, postsecondaryeducationand social media, respectively.

DespiteGov. RonDeSantisand hisadministrationscommendablecommitmenttofree speech, open inquiry, and viewpoint diversity,I think these bills suggest an inconsistency in this pledge:ina conflict between appealing to the party base and upholding the nonpartisan ideal of free speech, ideology will win out.

Is it too muchfor voters to ask that ourpolitical officials and university leaders set aside ideology in favor ofa nonpartisan application of theFirst Amendment? Maybesolong as weexpect them to put this above the interests of theirvoters.

But herein lies a possible solution:if students and faculty fromall ideologiesspeak out in support of free expression, then itisinpoliticiansinterest to protect this right for all.

The late Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurterwrotethat civil liberties draw at best only limited strength from legal guaranties.In other words,those who care about libertymust take theBill of Rightsas nothing more than lip service. Forourprotectionstomean anything inday-to-daylife, they must be taken up by each of us. Otherwise, theywill be violated by those who dontembrace themandenforced onlyaftersuchviolations have occurred.

Inthis case, theissueisnotwhetherthe professors rights wereviolated.Theproblem isthatthe infraction occurred. Anend to such infractions isostensiblythe true goal of any robust system offreedom of speech.

So,students and faculty atUSFthough we come from a different institutionshould care about this story.

Yes, we shouldcommendour sister institutionfor reversing itsmistake. But more importantly, we should take the opportunity tomake our support for the First Amendment loud and clear. Doing so is the best way to say to our elected officials andtoour own university,This will not happen here.

SamuelRechekis ajuniorpoliticalscience and philosophy major with minors in history and economicsat USF Tampa.

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OPINION: UF's free speech crisis, and why it matters for USF The Crow's Nest at USF St. Petersburg - The Crow's Nest