Resolving Conflict on Campus: A Case Study on Free Speech and Controversial Speakers

Authors

Benson Clayton T.
J. Huff

Abstract

By their very charge, institutions of higher education are intended to serve as venues for exploring personal ideologies, promoting intellectual curiosity, and en-couraging vigorous debate about contested issues. However, when an institution and its core values come into direct conflict with viewpoints that are fundamentally inconsistent with those values, the dissonance created by the clash of perspectives can be profound. Fundamental differences in perspective on highly charged issues and topics have become recurring themes for universities in the United States. From campus speakers, to speaker protests, to demonstrations in support of free speech and a range of other inclusion and diversity-related topics, the work of managing diversity related to conflict has become a high priority issue for campuses nation-wide.

Recommended Citation

Benson Clayton T. and J. Huff, Resolving Conflict on Campus: A Case Study on Free Speech and Controversial Speakers, 2018 J. Disp. Resol. (2018)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/jdr/vol2018/iss2/5