The Washington Post Highlights Fight for Yale’s Future and Other Nationwide Efforts for Free Speech on Campus

July 26, 2022

Over the weekend, The Washington Post wrote a story detailing how “College alumni groups spread nationally to counter ‘cancel culture.’” Fight for Yale’s Future could not be prouder to be a part of this effort.

The Washington Post reported that alumni free speech groups from a number of colleges, “including Harvard, Bucknell, Yale and Cornell universities, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Wofford and Davidson colleges,” have joined the Alumni Free Speech Alliance.

“To join, the groups must hold freedom of speech, academic freedom and viewpoint diversity as primary missions,” the paper reported.

Fight for Yale’s Future has been advocating reforms at Yale in that same spirit. Fight for Yale’s Future was launched in 2021 after the Yale Corporation, the governing body of Yale, abolished the process allowing alumni to petition to run for a position on the Board. Now, the candidates allowed to run for Board positions are selected by the Yale Alumni Association, only made public at the start of voting, and are prohibited from discussing the issues or speaking with media.

Fight for Yale’s Future has called for reform at Yale to ensure openness and transparency in its governance, and make sure Yale’s academic future stays bright through a commitment to free speech on campus and open debate. Fight for Yale’s Future latest petition has already garnered nearly 1,000 signatures from students, faculty, alumni, and other concerned friends of Yale.

The Washington Post story continues, focusing on the threat to free speech on campus that Fight for Yale’s future is working to counteract: “A study released by the Knight Foundation and Ipsos earlier this year found that a growing majority of college students believe their campus climate stifles free speech.”

It is clear that poor governance has allowed a climate suppressing free speech to fester at Yale. Without alumni working to hold Yale’s leadership accountable, the university’s legacy as a premier academic institution will suffer.

Read the full Washington Post piece here.