Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley announced Friday a witness list for a hearing next week to explore First Amendment restrictions on college campuses.
The hearing includes testimonies from students from Williams College and the University of Cincinnati College of Law, as well as faculty from American University and the UCLA School of Law.
Additionally, witnesses representing the Southern Poverty Law Center, Phi Beta Kappa Society and Senior Counsel Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP will be in attendance.
Called “Free Speech 101: The Assault on the First Amendment on College Campuses,” the hearing will likely include issues pertaining to campus speakers disinvited by school administrators over the speakers’ views as well as student and faculty free speech on campus.
Recent violent incidents on college campuses sparked by leftist protesters gave some lawmakers pause as to how to approach the problem.
Florida Republican Rep. Francis Rooney, a member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, suggested last week that congress could consider limiting funds from universities that restrict free speech rights on campus.
Washington Republican state Rep. Jim Walsh introduced a bill in his state legislature this week that would mandate all state-funded colleges and universities establish a set of standards that endorse the free exchange of views.
