Academic Freedom is Good for Everyone!

  • Author:
    n/a
  • Send To:
    Colorado State Legislature
  • Sponsored By:
    Concerned Citizens, Students, Faculty, Staff, Administrators, Legislators
  • More Info at:
Are you the Author?
We, the undersigned, hereby affirm the importance of both the right to free speech and the nationally recognized standard of academic freedom in support of quality instruction and scholarship. Recent statements and actions by Coloradoвs state legislature and Coloradoвs governor move dangerously close to violating both the tenets of the First Amendment and Academic Freedom. As American citizens, we maintain that freedom of speech must be defended for all в including those with unpopular or controversial views. An environment that supports the discussion and debate of all viewpoints, without threat of control or sanction by government bodies, is central to the mission of all colleges and universities. We urge government officials in the state of Colorado to continue to foster an atmosphere that supports the free and open exchange of ideas, and thus ensures the quality of higher education in our state.

The undersigned strongly oppose state mandated restrictions on academic freedom. Dissenting political opinions, no matter how controversial, are an essential component of a healthy democracy. Colorado's elected officials do not have a right to impose arbitrary limitations the range of "acceptable" speech and we believe our political representatives should make every effort to preserve, rather than undermine, the fundamental freedoms guaranteed to all Americans.

837 Signatures

  • Timothy McGettigan
  • Amy DeHerrera
    • Comments
    • LET THEM TEACH
  • Lynn Christopher
  • Christina L. Rodell
  • Gilbert F. Orr
    • Comments
    • I do not care for churchhill but he should have the right to speak his opinion freely, or none of us will.
  • Jack A. Seilheimer
    • Comments
    • Academic Freedom is essential to the health and well being of our Democracy and should be extended to other parts of our society. Academic Freedom must be protected to ensure the open pursuit of truth without the fetters of politics dominating this last vestige open discourse in our society. God help us if politicians start deciding what can and can not be said in classrooms and research.
  • Dawn Spencer
  • Jonathon W. Moses
  • Kelly Rae Sherman
  • Dave Unis
    • Comments
    • freedom of speech and ideas is vital to this being a free nation
  • Carol Loats
  • Keith Sinkhorn
    • Comments
    • Freedom to say what the government approves is not freedom.
  • Alison Helgoth
  • Steven Oakes
  • William E. Sheidley
  • David S. Fries
    • Comments
    • Free speech cannot be regulated. All ideas have to come to the table and be discussed. If there is untruth in the ideas, it will be revealed. What about the lies and deceptions coming out of the current White House? Who is to scrutinize them?
  • Amy McDaniel
    • Comments
    • Academics should not be restricted
  • Caleb Lowry
  • Jorge Tafoya
  • Fred Stultz, PhD
    • Comments
    • Free speech, no matter how unpopular, is the conerstone of democracy and the hallmark of any great institution of higher learning.
  • Nikki H.
    • Comments
    • If drastic measures are taken that indeed restrict out freedom to express our opinions then the First Amendment will cease to exist and governmental officials will gain more of the upper hand. We cannot be like a herd of sheep and believe/follow what others "above" us believe is right and wrong. Freedom of Speech is a foundation of this country and to limit it is to limit what our country stands for.
  • Anthony J. McGettigan
    • Comments
    • ideology is a mind altering substance
  • Roy Sonnema
    • Comments
    • The principle of academic freedom was established, in accordance with First Amendment rights, precisely to defend citizens against actions such as the ones some Colorado legislators are contemplating.
  • Jeff Loats
  • Martin Snyder
  • Anita Levy
  • Heather Gigliotti
  • laura brandt
  • Marilyn J. Scrogham
  • Rick Huff
    • Comments
    • Isn't this what the 1st amendment is all about?
  • Michelle Bergin
  • Erika Gubrium
  • Michael L Griffin Jr
    • Comments
    • I don't like Ward Churchill either, but I like government censorship even less
  • Chris Eklund
    • Comments
    • The academic community is self-corrective: a law restricting academic freedom would only constrict the "free marketplace of ideas."
  • Cynthia A. Beevers
    • Comments
    • America thrives on freedom and to restrict that freedom, especially in the area of education, is to violate what America stands for. Education is what seperates a fist world country from a third world country, and to restrict that education is to start America on the path to Facism and a third world country. Any astute American would see that this restrictiton is beyond ridicules and extremely damaging to the survival of America.
  • Jared Pacheco
  • Margaret M. Barber
  • Cheri Arfsten
  • Sammi Wilson
    • Comments
    • Where and what does our Nation stand for if freedom of speech, and academic freedom are stripped away? The first amendment would cease to exist. This country is defined by our "freedom".
  • Annett Daurio
  • Vincent Hohreiter
  • Candace Churchill
  • Andrea Rael
  • Jerry Bilbrey
  • Keith Willschau
  • David L. Spenny
  • Anissa Solano
  • Tiffany Lawson
  • Tina Burney
  • Sarah Lamphere
    • Comments
    • This country is getting ridiculous. Let me know when a petition against the burning of books is needing to be signed. That's next, isn't it?