Penn Political Union co-hosted a panel with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression that addressed the organization's low ranking of free speech at Penn and the University's response to recent campus events.
Adam Steinbaugh, a FIRE staff speaker on the litigation team, and College sophomore Mia Antonacci, a member of the FIRE fall 2023 class of Campus Scholars, discussed the question of “if and when institutions should take a stance on political or social issues” to an audience of around 25 people at the Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics on Nov. 29.
The conversation focused on free speech on private university campuses and FIRE's work, and the panelists also discussed the cancellation of progressive Jewish group Penn Chavurah's screening of "Israelism" and the Palestine Writes Literature Festival.
In September, Penn was ranked second-to-last out of 248 universities on FIRE’s annual free speech on college campuses rankings for the second year in a row. Steinbaugh commented on Penn’s ranking and his belief in its justification, due to Penn’s actions in light of recent events.
“As for Penn’s rankings over the last week or two, Penn is proving [its ranking],” Steinbaugh said.
Penn administrators used security and safety concerns as a "guise" for why the University denied progressive Jewish student group Penn Chavurah's request to screen the film “Israelism," according to Steinbaugh.
“If you can’t host a movie at a university because of security concerns, how are you running a university?" Steinbaugh said, adding that the way the University was "invoking security without being specific is a big red flag."
College senior and Penn Chavurah organizer Jack Starobin previously told The Daily Pennsylvanian that Penn administrators wanted to postpone the film due to the current campus climate. Penn Chavurah still screened "Israelism" — a film critical of Israel — in a room reserved by the Middle East Center on Nov. 28, and a University spokesperson previously told the DP that student organizers will face disciplinary action.
MEC director Harun Küçük submitted his resignation in response to "inappropriate pressure from administrators," after the center reserved the room for the film, according to the Penn chapter of the American Association of University Professors.
FIRE Communications Campaign Manager Alex Griswold wrote in a statement to the DP that "there have been many questions about the University of Pennsylvania's responsibilities towards free speech on campus following the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel," adding that FIRE supports institutional neutrality.
When asked to address the Palestine Writes festival, Steinbaugh spoke about the responsibility of universities to maintain “a viewpoint-neutral basis” when renting out spaces on their campus.
“I don’t think that administrators should be in the business of dictating who can or can’t speak at the University, I think that should be the prerogative of the student or faculty member who extended the invitation,” Steinbaugh said.
Penn is reviewing the process by which groups external to the University can reserve space and host events on campus as part of the University-wide action plan to combat antisemitism — a step that was first announced in a letter Magill sent to the Anti-Defamation League in September.
Steinbaugh also spoke about misconceptions students may have regarding their free speech on campus, addressing how many students believe they may lack free speech rights because they attend a private university, rather than a public university.
“What FIRE does is we will go to universities — private universities — and say you promised free speech that is something akin to the First Amendment and here’s what the First Amendment principles are, and you need to deliver on that promise,” Steinbaugh said.
The panel included a series of audience questions ranging from socially enforced self-censorship on campus, private university responsibility to the First Amendment due to government funding, and whether an increase in the number of administration positions could lead to diminished free speech on campus.
Antonacci spoke to the DP following the event about the importance of hosting regulated dialogues on Penn’s campus, and how she had been impacted by having those spaces on campus.
“I’m always in different areas of discourse, whether that be in classes or more niche, specialized circles I have put myself in," Antonacci said. "And I’ve seen within those circles free speech is free and good with open dialogue across the aisle, regulated and promoted."
College junior and PPU President Maya El-Sharif said the event was important given Penn's low FIRE ranking.
“Our University has taken some pretty questionable stances on free speech in recent history, and I think that we need to be more active about how we as students are self-censoring each other and also the legal implications of some of the decisions made by the University,” El-Sharif said.
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