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Arizona State University Alumni for Free Speech
ASU Should Adopt Institutional Neutrality
The Free Speech Report - May 2, 2025
May 02, 2025
Welcome to the first edition of the Free Speech Report — a monthly newsletter produced by ASU Alumni for Free Speech. Below you’ll find highlights, news articles, and community spotlights to stay informed on our latest activities. Thanks for your interest in our work.
This month, our chapter began advocating for ASU and fellow Arizona public universities to adopt institutional neutrality. It’s time for colleges — especially taxpayer-funded colleges — to get out of daily political drama: the university should be the “home and sponsor of critics, not the critic itself.” Our chairman and a couple current ASU students penned an op-ed in the Arizona Capitol Times asking fellow alumni to sign a petition calling on ASU to formally adopt political neutrality.
In the News
In the News
By: Joe Pitts, Sophia Thomason, and Joseph Kavetsky
Chairman Joe Pitts and members Sophia Thomason and Joseph Kavetsky recently co-authored a piece in the Arizona Capitol Times making the case for why ASU should commit to political neutrality, following the tradition of leading universities nationwide. Read how this important message is gaining momentum — and why it matters for the future of free speech at ASU.
Here’s an excerpt:
ASU should join a growing list of world-class American universities, ranging from Harvard to Columbia, by committing itself in writing to being a sponsor of critics, not the critic itself; teaching her students how to engage in constructive dialogue across difference, not stepping in to settle every inflammatory dispute. Sun Devils pride ourselves in innovation — we shouldn’t be left in the dust while the nation’s leading institutions of higher learning recommit themselves to their core functions.
Interesting Reads
Interesting Reads
First Annual Hoover Institution (Stanford) / ASU Law Aspiring Free Speech Scholars Workshop — Eugene Volokh
Are you a law student, judicial law clerk, or lawyer hoping to publish your first, second, or third law review article related to free speech law? Would you like the opportunity to get advice about your draft from leading free speech scholars?
Free speech on campus and its limits, ASU panel digs in — Shannon Levitt
To debate the hotly contested issue of just how far the right to free speech does extend, the Center for Constitutional Design at ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law is hosting a panel discussion on Thursday, Jan. 30, called “Free Speech on Campus in the Wake of the Israel/Hamas War.”
GOP group is abhorrent. And ASU is right to let them be that way | Opinion — Stephen Richer
In college — the great forge of minds — students shouldn’t be shielded from potentially hurtful ideas; they should be invited to challenge them.
AFSA Community spotlights
AFSA Community spotlights
Check out what’s going on in the world of the Alumni for Free Speech Alliance!
Help us Reach 100 Signatures - Sign Today!
“We, the undersigned, alongside the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), petition the Board of Regents to adopt an official policy that clarifies and codifies its commitment to institutional neutrality, in addition to its existing materials on the subject.”
Visit Alumni Free Speech Alliance’s (AFSA) website to learn about its purpose and explore other chapters across the country.
Revisit the event that launched our chapter!
About Us
About Us
Our purpose is to promote and strengthen free expression, academic freedom, and viewpoint diversity, both on campus and throughout the global Arizona State University (ASU) community.
Joe Pitts, Chairman
Landon Miller, Director of Operations
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Stay Connected
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