Cheng-chi (Kirin) Chang & Yinn-Ching Lu, Academic Limbo: Reforming Campus Speech Governance for Students, 2025Wis. L. Rev. Forward 23 (2025).
Abstract
This essay examines the structural inequalities in academic freedom
protections between faculty and students at private universities, highlighted
by the 2023 Gaza-related campus protests. While faculty members enjoy
multiple layers of protection through tenure, contracts, and legal precedents,
students must rely solely on discretionary university policies interpreted by
the administrators who restrict their speech. Through analysis of recent
campus conflicts, this essay argues that current frameworks for protecting
student academic freedom in private universities are fundamentally
inadequate and proposes establishing institutional oversight boards inspired
by social media governance models. Unlike temporary committees, these
boards would provide consistent, transparent adjudication processes while
building precedent for future cases. This essay demonstrates why university
implementation of such oversight mechanisms offers distinct advantages over
social media models, including manageable case volumes and clearer
contextual standards. By creating institutional separation of powers, these
reforms would help align administrative actions with stated commitments to
academic freedom while maintaining necessary operational control.
