Furman needs to walk its talk on free speech

Fall is a wonderful time at Furman University. Friends are reuniting after a summer apart. The mall is teeming with football tailgates. The leaves are just beginning to turn. All on one of the most beautiful college campuses in the country. It should be an ideal place to learn and grow.

But I’m not sure it still is. Furman’s fall ambiance belies the reality of a university that is on the verge of failing to provide its students with the world-class education it promised them. And the current administration’s policies are only making things worse for future generations of Paladins. This is especially true with respect to Furman’s deteriorating climate for open expression and academic freedom.

I graduated from Furman in 2021, and the experience I had is unrecognizable to my friends who graduated only four years before, not to mention more senior alumni.

For instance, to become a resident assistant at Furman, I was subjected to a training program called “Dins Dialogue” that required students to introduce ourselves to one another with our pronouns before proceeding to sort ourselves into discussion groups according to our racial backgrounds and sexual preferences.

That’s just one example. The data are even more devastating.

According to an American Council of Trustees and Alumni survey released in February, almost half of Furman students reported experiencing or witnessing uncivil treatment for sharing political or social views. Moreover, 39% of Republicans and 20% of Democrats report being socially excluded for sharing their political or social views. Almost 40% of Republican students said they self-censor fairly or very often.

Furman’s leadership knows this is a real liability. Things are so bad that Furman President Elizabeth Davis felt the need to pen a piece in The Post and Courier in March highlighting the university’s new “On Discourse” initiative as well as the recently adopted “Statement on Freedom of Inquiry and Expression.” The headline was “Civil discourse requires commitment and action.”

She’s right, of course, and the university’s new efforts should be commended, but they won’t fix the problem on their own. That’s why more and more Furman alumni like me are joining the Furman Free Speech Alliance. We love our alma mater, and we want Furman to be a place where we can be proud to send our children. So, we’re holding the administration accountable for protecting and promoting free speech on campus.

And we’re not alone.

A fast-growing number of alumni at colleges and universities across the country — from nearby Davidson to the Ivy Leagues — are fed up with the status quo and are advocating major reforms at their schools. Earlier this year, for example, thanks to pressure from alumni at Harvard and MIT, both schools dropped their requirement for prospective professors seeking employment to write a statement describing their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

As the school year begins, we call on Furman to do the same. Indeed, if Furman wants to fulfill its potential, it is time for the university to abandon its requirement for professors to write these onerous and politically charged statements. Why? Because they are designed to filter for candidates’ political views, not their academic excellence or potential to be great professors.

This is especially important at a small liberal arts school such as Furman, where professors make or break the educational experience. Historically, the faculty has been one of the school’s strong suits, and I know that countless alumni like me are grateful for the relationships we were able to build with our professors.

But without action now, that could change forever. As Furman’s senior faculty leave or retire, they’re being replaced with a group of professors who I believe are — on the whole — less competent, less impressive and less politically diverse. 

President Davis has made bold promises about Furman’s commitment to free speech. Dropping mandatory DEI statements would be an encouraging next step in the right direction.

Evan Myers graduated from Furman University in 2021. He is an editor and writer for The Heritage Foundation.

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This article was published by the Post & Courier on September 24, 2024.