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Events

First Amendment Law Review Symposium: The Quintessential Marketplace of Ideas? Current Free Speech Issues on University Campuses

On November 15, 2024, the Center for Media Law and Policy will be joining with the First Amendment Law Review to present a symposium on “The Quintessential Marketplace of Ideas?: Current Free Speech Issues on University Campuses.”

In the past year, student protests over the war in Gaza have spread across the country, raising difficult questions about not only how university administrators should respond but also what role, if any, protests should play in the life of a university. At the same time, UNC and other universities have embraced the concept of “institutional neutrality” for the first time since it was proposed in the 1967 Kalven Report; students and professors alike complain that they are “canceled” for expressing unpopular viewpoints in the place traditionally known as the marketplace of ideas; and federal and state lawmakers take aim at elitist universities.

Join us Friday, November 15, 2024, at the George Watts Hill Alumni Center at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill as we dive into this topic, dissecting contemporary challenges the First Amendment faces at America’s institutions of higher education. We are excited to host several leading First Amendment academics and practitioners, including Professor Mary-Rose Papandrea, Samuel Ashe Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law at the UNC School of Law, who will deliver the keynote address.

Keynote Address

Panel 1: Student Speech & Protests

Moderated by Michael Gerhardt, Burton Craige Distinguished Professor of Jurisprudence, UNC School of Law

Panel 2: Faculty Speech & Academic Freedom

Moderated by William P. Marshall, William Rand Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of Law, UNC School of Law

Panel 3: Institutional Speech & Administrative Challenges

Moderated by Mary-Rose Papandrea, Samuel Ashe Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law, UNC School of Law

This event is free and open to the public.  The event will also be streamed live on YouTube.