State Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen
A bill requiring all state-funded colleges, universities and technical schools to adopt rules to support the free speech of all students and faculty has been introduced in the state Legislature by Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, following unrest at The Evergreen State College.
“We need to protect our deeply-held commitment to freedom of speech and free academic inquiry at state universities,” Walsh said in a press release. “The vulgar, closed-minded tyranny that we’ve seen recently at Evergreen State has no place on campuses funded with public resources. This bill protects both students and teachers. It reminds our public universities that they must encourage the ability to think, speak clearly and express opinions freely.”
House Bill 2223 is a reaction to the recent events at The Evergreen State College last month where threats of violence were made after white students were asked to stay off of campus for a day as a way to show them what it is like to be a minority, The Tacoma News Tribune reported. In the past, minority students have participated in a day of absence. Protests about campus police questioning black students also occurred.
Walsh’s bill requires institutions of higher education to “foster an environment that ensures freedom of speech and exchange of ideas,” the press release states. This includes banning what are known as free speech zones, which are designated areas where students are free to debate controversial ideas. The bill states all of campus should act as a free speech zone, even if it is “emotionally disturbing to some.”
The bill also contains language to not allow institutions from disinviting controversial speakers based on student opposition to them.
The University of California in Berkeley disinvited conservative author Ann Coulter in April after student protests and riots.
“With this bill, reasonable Washingtonians of all political stripes can join together to reclaim the word ‘liberal’ from a small group of childish people who’ve hijacked it,” Walsh said in a press release. “Our state-funded colleges and universities do great things for all of us when they teach people how to think critically and engage with ideas — even ideas they don’t like — coherently. Some of our colleges have lost their way in this regard. Let’s help them get back to that important mission.”
Rep. Matt Manweller, R-Ellensburg, introduced a bill to withdraw all state funding from Evergreen State College in wake of the protests.
Walsh is the sole sponsor of the bill that was introduced into the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives on Monday. It has been referred to the committee of higher education and is awaiting a public hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
