WASHINGTON ― Free speech on college campuses is “under attack” as universities transform into shelters “for fragile egos,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who leads a Justice Department prosecuting a woman for laughing at him during a congressional hearing, said in a Tuesday speech.
“The American university was once the center of academic freedom ― a place of robust debate, a forum for the competition of ideas,” Sessions told an invite-only audience at Georgetown University’s law school. “But it is transforming into an echo chamber of political correctness and homogenous thought, a shelter for fragile egos.”
Sessions delivered his speech as the Justice Department prepares to retry a woman who laughed at him during his Senate confirmation hearing in January. The department’s continued prosecution of Desiree Fairooz was mentioned in an open letter signed by several members of the Georgetown law school faculty that said Sessions was a poor spokesman for the values of free speech.
Some students and law school faculty members demonstrated against Sessions and Trump administration’s policies on Tuesday morning, standing on the steps of the building where the attorney general would speak at an event they weren’t allowed to attend.
“Sessions only speaks to echo chambers,” one sign said. Other placards included “Freedom of speech is not at your convenience Sessions,” “There’s not RSVP on the 1st Amendment,” and “Fuck Jeff ‘Racist Keebler Elf’ Sessions.”
Sessions’ talk on the value of free speech came amid the controversy over his boss ― President Donald Trump ― encouraging owners of NFL teams to fire players who chose to kneel during the playing of the national anthem to protest racial injustice. Trump’s remarks instead prompted a variety of demonstrations during the anthem at games this past Sunday, including some in which owners participated.
One protester outside Sessions’ speech held a sign that said “What About Kaep?” That referred to quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision not to stand for the anthem last year as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, the protest that initially prompted a few players to follow suit and then ― following the insults Trump hurled at such athletes beginning last Friday ― was emulated en masse in the NFL this past weekend.
Responding to a few questions after his remarks, Sessions defended Trump’s right to condemn the NFL players and said he believed it was a “big mistake” for players to demonstrate during the anthem.
Sessions’ speech also followed a Sunday gathering organized by conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos that became what a UC Berkeley spokesman called the “most expensive photo op in the university’s history,” with security costs running around $800,000 for a short rally after the cancellation of a series of events stretching over four days.
The attorney general cited what happened at Berkeley, blaming “the Orwellian-named ‘anti-fascist’ protesters” for shutting down with “violent riots” the several events Yiannopoulos wanted to stage. A Justice Department spokeswoman said the speech had been in the works for some time, and was not directly tied to the Berkeley controversy.
“As schools begin this fall and on the heels of Constitution day, the attorney general thought it was important to renew the call for the free, robust, and sometimes contentious exchange of ideas which has been met with so much hostility at our universities lately,” Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores told HuffPost.