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Penn State Named to List of ’10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech’

A civil liberties group that has long focused on campus speech issues named Penn State to its 2023 list of “10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech.”

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) said on Wednesday that Penn State earned a spot on the list for its last-minute cancellation of an event hosted by the student group Uncensored America and featuring Gavin McInnes, founder of the far-right Proud Boys gang, in October. The university cited “the threat of escalating violence” in canceling the event as skirmishes broke out amid a large protest.

“Penn State’s decision to cancel Uncensored America’s comedy show due to detractors’ actions was a clear violation of students’ First Amendment rights and an unconstitutional capitulation to the heckler’s veto,” Sabrina Conza, FIRE’s campus rights advocacy program officer, wrote in an email.

In the weeks leading up to the incident, Penn State officials condemned the views of the event’s featured guests — McInnes and self-described “professional troll” Alex Stein — but repeatedly said they would not cancel it, instead urging protestors to stay away and not engage with the event or its supporters.

Hundreds of protestors — and a large law enforcement presence — gathered in the area around the Thomas Building the night of Oct. 24. About 40 minutes before the Uncensored America event was scheduled to begin, the university announced it was canceled and ordered protestors to disperse, calling the demonstration “an unlawful disturbance.”

The university, FIRE says, could have allowed the event and peaceful protest to continue if police had removed lawbreakers. Police did not appear to intervene during two notable incidents captured in videos and photographs: one in which a protestor spit on Stein after he came out to agitate the crowd; the other when masked individuals walked into the middle of a crowd of people and deployed pepper spray. After the event was canceled, a line of police, including state troopers on horseback forced the remaining protestors out of the area.

(Only one person was charged in connection with the protest, for failing to obey orders to leave the area. He was recently accepted into the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program for first-time offenders, according to court documents, and could have the misdemeanor charges wiped from his record.)

“The university’s defense of its actions — citing the threat of escalating violence, which video footage showed the university not appropriately addressing — shows that when it comes down to taking action to defend free expression, the university will run at the first sign of trouble,” Conza said. “We hope that in 2023, Penn State honors its obligation to free expression, and if it doesn’t, we may need to honor Penn State again next year.”

Penn State spokesperson Wyatt DuBois said the university is “fully committed to the principle of free speech, which is a fundamental value of higher education.”

“Further, as a public university, Penn State is bound by the First Amendment to allow free expression on its campuses, regardless of the viewpoints being espoused, including those that we may find deeply offensive,” DuBois said. “However, when true threats or a risk of imminent violence or other criminal conduct that would endanger people or property are likely to occur, public institutions are permitted to cancel or reject events.”

Penn State is one of two Pennsylvania universities to make FIRE’s 12th annual list, joining the University of Pennsylvania.

FIRE’s 2023 10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech

  • Collin College (McKinney, Texas)
  • Emerson College (Boston, Mass.)
  • Emporia State University (Emporia, Kan.)
  • Hamline University (Saint Paul, Minn.)
  • Loyola University New Orleans (New Orleans, La.)
  • Pennsylvania State University (State College, Pa.)
  • Tennessee Tech University (Cookeville, Tenn.)
  • Texas A&M University (College Station, Texas)
  • University of Oregon (Eugene, Ore.)
  • University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pa.)