Free speech is the cornerstone to any free society.  Students at public institutions of higher learning should feel free to speak their minds, ask questions, and be intellectually curious.  However, currently these schools do not have any provisions for incentivizing or even protecting these rights.  In many cases it is just the opposite, schools have enacted and retracted certain speech codes and speech zones for years.  

If we are to become more united as a nation, we must start by speaking to one another, listening, and understanding our differences at the most local level.  The best place to start that change is in our schools, so that future generations do not look at their fellow Americans as the “enemy,” but instead, understand their differences and work together on the extensive common ground that exists.  

Teaching our young people the virtues of respectful, civil debate and disagreement will be critical in the coming years.  Our efforts would take a giant leap towards fostering this culture of inclusion and tolerance on campus.  Please support House Bill 516, which would require New Hampshire public institutions of higher learning to adopt free speech policies into their student handbooks and codes of conduct.  It distinguishes protected speech from calls to commit violence or harassment, and it also still allows the institution to halt demonstrations that disrupt campus activities. This small, reasonable change would start the process of moving campuses back to centers of learning, questioning, and critical thought.  Differences of opinion are normal; higher learning relies on teaching students how to think critically and challenge their beliefs.  

Twenty-two states and counting have enacted legislation to protect free speech, expression, and association.  We must learn to speak and listen to one another again.

Please support House Bill 516 to enshrine free speech on college campuses!