Author: The Speech Axe Team

  • DEI, CRT and antisemitism

    DEI, CRT and antisemitism

    By Yvette Hacks As we pass through further rounds of campus leader hearing theatre in the US, I want to reflect on an argument that has increasingly been trotted out, linking free speech, antisemitism and DEI (and/or Critical Race Theory) on college campuses, which seems to generate a general lack of trust in university administrations…

  • ‘Woke’ finance bills and the risks to academic freedom

    ‘Woke’ finance bills and the risks to academic freedom

    By William Cook The past year has seen a wave of attacks from Republican state governors and legislatures on so-called ‘woke’ investments in ESG-oriented funds by state institutions – nearly 200 bills across 37 states in 2023. ESG stands for environmental, social and governance investing, which republican lawmakers have targeted for its perceived promotion of…

  • Bigoted speech is not an inoculation

    Bigoted speech is not an inoculation

     By William Cook In recent years, the immune system has become popular analogy for how speech on campus should operate. The argument is thus: just as our body adapts to better defend against pathogens through incremental exposure, so to do our minds adapt to better defend against “objectionable ideas” through incremental exposure. This argument also…