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Friday, December 27, 2019

Free Speech in Two Journals

Yours truly - during this quiet period when UCLA is closed - has been catching up on recent developments. Among them was a new online journal sponsored by the free speech center of UC (officially the "UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement"). I found the reference in the email newsletter UCOP Daily News Clips of Dec. 20.

The first edition of the journal deals with controversies and court cases with regard to "bias response teams" at various universities. It might be noted that any UC incidents and cases with regard to such matters are not included. (Have there been none?) There is also an article by the center's co-chair, Erwin Chermerinsky, commenting on the subject (but again without any references to issues at UC). You can find the new journal from the center at:
https://mailchi.mp/be6468738298/speech-spotlight-bias-response-teams

However, a test of sorts of academic free speech at UC appeared in the same issue of UCOP Daily News Clips where I came across the reference to the new journal. There was an op ed reproduced there dealing with - and highly critical of -  the "diversity statements" that UC now requires for academic personnel decisions. The op ed was written by the chair of the math dept., at UC-Davis and compares the statements to the loyalty oaths required of UC faculty in the early 1950s. It appeared originally, not in the center's journal above, but in the Wall St. Journal. Text below:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BGV6QU0iEuHqczkCx35eBwuENJSzmaEU/view

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