University Senate passes resolution affirming academic freedom

The University Senate at Eastern recently passed a resolution affirming academic freedom. The resolution was voted on and approved on Oct. 21. 

The resolution affirms the First Amendment rights of the campus community, particularly regarding Eastern’s function as an arena for public discourse.  

The resolution supports the University’s goals of “fostering an academic environment in which faculty, staff, and students are free to pursue knowledge, express ideas, and engage in critical inquiry without fear of censorship or retaliation,” reads the resolution. 

Further, the resolution aims to “protect freedom of speech, inquiry, and respectful debate for all members of our campus, regardless of background or viewpoint.” 

Sociology Professor Megan Stanton helped develop the resolution. “I deeply value the University Senate as a space of shared governance and meaning-making and therefore offered the idea of the resolution to the Senate agenda."

Stanton explained that Senate President and Professor Kristen Morgan took the lead in drafting the language of the resolution, facilitating discussion, and bringing it to vote.

Stanton explained that University Senate resolutions serve to lead by example rather than by sanctions. “Resolutions do not create new policy or programs,” she said. “The strength of a resolution, therefore, comes from its expression of a collective voice — a majority of the voting members of the Senate must approve of the resolution for it to pass.” 

This particular resolution passed unanimously, reflecting the University’s commitment to its status as an open forum. “When added to the statements put forth by the University President and Student Government Association, the Eastern community asserts our full-throated and ongoing commitment to free speech, diversity in discourse, and open inquiry,” said Stanton.