Freedom of Expression

As members of the Gallaudet Community, we believe in the principles of freedom of expression and open dialogue without fear of censorship or retaliation. We recognize diversity of expression is based on each person’s unique life experiences, backgrounds and intersectional identities. In order to ensure respectful and meaningful communication in our diverse community, we believe each community member:

• has a right to share their views through all forms of expression or petition
• has a right to legally protest and support causes important to them
• has a responsibility to read, watch, or listen with compassion and learn from different viewpoints
• has a duty to understand and consider how words, actions, and expressions may impact others and be mindful when expressing their views.

Last year was a challenging year. As we head into a new academic year, we are aware of a lot of ongoing highly emotionally charged politics, conflicts, and human tragedies. As a university, we want to express our support for academic free expression and provide a framework for our community members to reflect.

Gallaudet University supports and promotes the right of each individual to express their opinions. This belief is embedded in the Gallaudet University Credo. Freedom of expression is central to the functioning of a democratic society. As an educational institution, we recognize that debate, petition, and protest are essential for students and community members to learn about a highly complex world, how to critically engage with information and argument, and how to live by their values. These skills are important as we seek to recognize systems of privilege and oppression, empower marginalized groups, and counter disinformation.

We share six discussion points as an opportunity for each of us to reflect on public discourse:

1. The academy is historically a place for debate. Socrates, a Greek philosopher famous for his “debates,“ dealt with many complex and challenging issues of morality, justice, and ethics. Academic discussion helps us understand ourselves and the world better, encouraging individuals and society to change for the better. Sometimes, the issues we discuss are enormously complex. Sometimes, issues can cause very deep emotions. We can learn how to engage with complexity, feel our emotions, and remain true to our values while engaging in expression.
2. We are living through a period of rapid change, in which our communities and the world are experiencing many challenges. As we navigate numerous complex issues, free expression is even more important for understanding and improving the world. There are many views one may personally find disagreeable or offensive. Support for free expression is not a license for hateful or grotesque expression. We recognize new norms are emerging around hate speech. In such a transition, the academy values thoughtful discussion of ideas with mindfulness for the dignity and respect of every human being.
3. We can be aware of how rapid social and technological changes are impacting our experience. Social Media and AI have transformed the way we communicate and interact with each other. Social Media algorithms feed users a diet of information they predict will rile up users and cause them to engage with a post. Influencers capitalize on these algorithms to attract engagement with their content. Algorithms skew what we see online. What we see online does not always present an accurate or full worldview. This is also true of our lived experiences. Our understanding is shaped by the families and communities in which we live. Our experiences do not necessarily reflect the experiences of others. Thoughtful discussion allows us to understand different communities and complex issues better; discussion allows us to understand the limits of our worldview and to grow.
4. We invite community members to listen for understanding with compassion. In so doing, we use empathy and curiosity to understand others, ourselves, and the world better. We invite members of our community to listen, with open hearts and minds, to different opinions, even when those opinions are radically opposed to our own. When we listen with an open heart and mind, when we listen with compassion, we will arrive at a deeper understanding less clouded by emotional reactions. When sharing our own perspectives, we invite community members to express themselves with understanding of how words, gestures, and political slogans may impact others. As a community, we can be aware that intensive listening can be challenging to achieve on social media. We encourage community members to attend events, workshops, and classes where meaningful conversations can happen on a deeper level.
5. As individuals, we can be mindful that we are one person in a great and boisterous society. As we look to promote our ideas and values, we can also remember that we have choices about how we do so.
   • We can choose when and how we express ourselves. Expressing ourselves in public may invite responses from people with different views, and some may feel more comfortable with this than others. If we express these views online, we recognize that we may be subject to unhealthy engagement from anonymous accounts or provocateurs.
   • We choose how we support causes important to us. We can publicly state our views, donate time or money to an organization aligned with our beliefs, sign a petition, or participate in one of many protests advocating our position.
   • We choose how to respond to ideas that are antithetical or offensive to our worldviews. We can choose not to engage, we can discuss publicly, we can discuss an issue in private, we can research more about their worldview, or we can do something to support our causes.
6. Before you go, learn how to protest. We want everyone to protest safely! Please remember that even in the emotional intensity of protest, authorities expect protesters to follow local laws. You can find information on expectations for protesting in Washington, D.C. here: ACLU protest resources. Access to protest interpreters is available here.
   
   Gallaudet University generally permits protests on its property with advanced notice following campus procedures. Protests must not compromise campus safety or educational activities. Just as in DC, protesters need to follow campus policies and cooperate with campus authorities. Any university response will be governed by the university’s values, policies, and the position of leading higher education organizations, including the AAUP.