In recent years, there has been increasing public scrutiny over free speech on college campuses across the U.S., with concerns that students may be exposed only to left-leaning ideologies and that some students' free speech is being suppressed. In response to these concerns, two years ago, the University of Wyoming (UW) formed a working group to examine free speech issues and develop recommendations to foster a more open environment for diverse viewpoints.
Dr. Martha McCaughey, an adjunct professor at UW and co-chair of the Working Group on Freedom of Expression, Intellectual Freedom, and Constructive Dialogue, has been working alongside University President Ed Seidel to implement the recommendations. She understands the concerns that parents and community members have about the influences their children may face at college.
“I get it. I'm a parent of a college student now,” McCaughey said. “I understand that you're sending your kid off when they're pretty young to be in the hands of all these other people.”
Concerns that UW and the state’s community colleges may be biased or are attempting to indoctrinate students are shared by many in the state legislature with talk of defunding “woke” parts of secondary education. Chair of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus John Bear said that this would be one of the caucus’s priorities.
“You're going to see DEI funding for the university and the community colleges, the funding for that type of education, that “woke” education, if you will, is going to be limited, if not eliminated,” he said.
In response, UW has launched resources, including videos and a podcast hosted by Professor Matthew Burgess and focused on free speech, which are available on the university’s website. Additionally, the university has formed local chapters of national organizations like BridgeUSA and Heterodox Academy, which are dedicated to fostering dialogue across ideological lines. These groups have already hosted events on campus aimed at encouraging civil discussions between students with differing political views.
McCaughey added that universities and professors don’t have an agenda, but are simply investigating and educating.
“If it was a class on Marxism, that doesn't mean you're a Marxist and you're trying to get everyone to believe in Marxism. It means you're investigating this topic or that movement,” she said. “I've taught a class on social movements. That doesn't mean I was a member of the social movement. It's that this is something a sociologist might inquire about and research and teach about.”
Despite growing national concerns, an internal campus survey revealed that the majority of students and faculty at UW do not feel that free speech is being actively suppressed. The survey results show a different picture than the national narrative, with much of the UW community indicating that they experience a healthy exchange of ideas and viewpoints on campus.
Based on the survey and her own experiences at UW, McCaughey believes that the university has a culture of civic cooperation.
“There is a real strong sense of civic friendship, where people are willing to work together with others, you know, with their fellow students, and colleagues across lines of ideological or political difference, where maybe their political differences don't even matter to them,” she said.
While she thinks UW has made strides in promoting free speech and civil discourse, McCaughey acknowledges that there is still work to be done. The university is continuing to implement the working group’s recommendations and expects to roll out more initiatives in the coming months. The goal is to ensure that students of all political backgrounds feel that their voices are heard and respected.
