Letter to the editor: Threats to free speech

Among many alarming allegations in a 2023 lawsuit against Penn State are university-sanctioned harassment and silencing of an Abington campus professor. Filings show retaliation against him for asking questions during mandatory “antiracist” training sessions like “White Teachers are a Problem.” He was told that race-based disparagement of white-skinned people was protected speech, while his asking questions was not protected speech.

Trainers and administrators said he was a bully because asking for examples made them feel uncomfortable. They informed him that he would continue attending “antiracist” workshops until he “got it.” And then they bullied him out of a job. Penn State faculty, staff, students, alumni, parents and Pennsylvania taxpayers deserve better.

Retaliation that coerces and intimidates people into silence violates their free speech rights. Like many universities, Penn State’s free speech ranking has steeply declined — from 107 to 189 — according to a Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression survey, while well-intentioned professors and students continue to clamor for more “hate-speech” protection.

As recent congressional testimony of Ivy League presidents demonstrated, free-speech restrictions always favor one preferred group over another. Free speech should be absolute and flow in all directions equally. So should punishment for assault and violations of civil rights.

Without confidence in equal footing, people within and outside the university setting cannot engage in mutually respectful dialogue.

Susan Forney

Manor The writer is a Penn State alumna and member of the Alliance for Free Speech at Penn State.