Private Colleges Are Getting Stricter About Student Speech. The distinction from public colleges is becoming increasingly stark.
By Sophia Bailly
EXCERPTS:
Because private institutions are not bound by the First Amendment the way public universities are, they have long been largely free to create, adjust, and interpret their speech policies as they see fit. But experts say these policies are increasingly dictated by college leaders’ efforts to prevent unwanted attention. Under the microscope of big donors, politicians, and trustees, private colleges are growing skittish.
Students, faculty members, and legal experts wonder how far the stifling of student expression will go. Berthelot and other students say the rules are becoming increasingly convoluted and vague.
...
“If you have any convictions that you hold dearly to yourself, attending a private university is just not congruent with that,” Gray said. “You’re better off at a public school.”
Isaac A. Kamola, an associate professor of political science at Trinity College, was part of a task force of administrators, faculty members, and student-government representatives that drafted a new policy on protests and demonstrations in the spring of 2025.
He regrets his involvement.
Kamola, who is also the director of the American Association of University Professors’ Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom, said the new policy was supposed to prevent disruptions that would interfere with education. Instead, he said, it’s been used to restrict all forms of student expression. The administration has, for example, used it to prohibit chalking messages, he said — long a way Trinity students have safely and peacefully expressed themselves.