As U.S. citizens, our right to speech is one of the most sacred inalienable rights. It is the right that protects all other rights; the right that allows us to question power, demand accountability, and tell the truth without fear of punishment. Without it, everything else becomes negotiable.
Print Issue No. 34 is dedicated to showcasing how attacks or promotions of freedom of speech on campus have altered the university experience for students and staff.
Last fall, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) gave Florida Atlantic a ‘D-’ speech climate rating. This was mainly due to a low score in the “Disruptive Conduct” category, defined by instances where students surveyed believe it is acceptable to shut down speakers, disrupt surveys, and challenge campus policies and school-related speech controversies.
Although FIRE didn’t point to specific instances, as students and reporters working on the ground at FAU’s Boca Raton campus, the University Press has seen them firsthand.
Three FAU professors, Karen Leader, Kate Polak, and Rebel Cole, were placed on paid administrative leave in September 2025 for making comments on social media in reaction to the assassination of conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk.
The incident has created a politically charged atmosphere at FAU and raised questions about the limits of free speech versus accountability for actions taken on an individual’s personal social media account.
Shortly after, organizations such as FAU College Democrats, Sunshine Party, Solidarity, and Lavender Alliance organized a protest against the university’s partnership with ICE through FAU’s 287(g) agreement. The agreement allows local law enforcement to collaborate with ICE to enforce immigration laws on campus.
While some argue that it endangers undocumented students and other members of the surrounding community, supporters argue that it will enhance campus safety. The gathering included students from both perspectives as well as from FAU’s Turning Point USA, who organized a counter-protest.
But Florida Atlantic is not alone. Universities across the country are experiencing both increases in restrictions on students’ and professors’ free speech rights and in student-led protests.
Following Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, institutions began to see an upsurge in on-campus protests. From Columbia University to Indiana University, institutions began to react by implementing changes to on-campus protest rules. Both of these institutions were at the bottom of FIRE’s 2026 College Free Speech rankings, based upon a survey from “68, 510 student respondents from 257 colleges and universities” from Jan. 3 through June 5, 2025, according to FIRE’s website.
The Associated Press reported that as of August 2024, more than 50 Columbia students faced disciplinary action following on-campus demonstrations that had garnered national attention.
The University of South Florida (USF) also amended its rules regarding protest. New policies require prior approval for tents, canopies, banners, signs, and amplifiers, and prohibit demonstrations after 5 p.m. every day of the week.
According to FIRE, 166 of the 257 colleges and universities surveyed ‘failed’ its 2025 speech climate survey. Although FAU received a “D-” rating, these ratings still reflect the greater speech issue at hand.
While we are journalists, we as students are still watching these events unfold before us. What kind of journalists would we be if we did not feel the urge to inform other students about what is happening on our campus, even if we were worried about speaking the truth?
From documenting the toll that universities’ censorship in collegiate sports takes on university athletics programs to the pressure and consequences students and professors face when deciding whether to speak up on campus, we aim to highlight the voices of campus members who have yet to share their stories.
The University Press exists to highlight students’ voices and shed light on the circumstances and news affecting FAU students – to give students a platform to speak their truth, to tell the stories that often go unheard. This foundation is the core of student media and begs the question: Without freedom of speech, how will our voices be heard?
This story is in the UP’s latest print issue Vol. 34, “Freedom of Speech,” which can be found in the distribution bins around the Boca Raton and Jupiter campuses or in the Student Union, Room 214.
