Four Questions About Free Speech and Campus Conflict

Rather than presenting theories or truths about free speech and campus conflict, this Essay instead offers four questions—derived from lessons I have learned as a teacher, scholar, and practitioner of dispute resolution—that might shed some light on best practices in campus free speech disputes. These are considerations one might want to take into account before deciding who may speak, what they may say, and how those questions ought to be answered in any given situation. The four questions are these: What is the context for this dispute? Do the parties have an ongoing relationship?

Is it fair to ask for compromise and could the search for common ground do harm? Are the parties to this conflict members of a shared community? In this Essay, I will examine each of these considerations in turn.