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Podcast: Commonwealth Club of California Podcast
Episode: The Opinionated University: Academic Freedom, Diversity, and the Myth of Neutrality in American Higher Education
Description: Can a university ever truly be neutral in today’s social and political climate? Pushing against the tide of universities increasingly pledging to stay neutral about contentious issues, law professor Brian Soucek argues that their promises are doomed to fail—universities can’t help being opinionated.Â
Soucek says that neutrality is a myth, and he takes a deep dive into several prominent campus controversies of the day, including diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts and restrictions on campus speech and protest. Each issue requires universities to choose a side in what they do, if not also in what th...