America Quote by Donna Shalala
“You can't have a university without having free speech, even though at times it makes us terribly uncomfortable. If students are not going to hear controversial ideas on college campuses, they're not going to hear them in America. I believe it's part of their education.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Public Education Forum, 2020
Free speech is essential to universities; discomfort is part of learning and civic preparation.
In simple terms: Free speech is vital despite discomfort.
Key Takeaway
Support open dialogue on campus.
Themes
free speech
education
civic duty
Mood
serious
engaged
Type
political
educational
When to use this quote
- classroom debates
- policy making
- student activism
Key Concepts
democracy
academic freedom
Questions to Reflect On
- How can campuses foster respectful controversy?
- What limits, if any, should free speech have?
A Different Perspective
Balancing free speech with safety can be challenging.
![“All ideas having even the slightest redeeming social importance - unorthodox ideas, controversial ideas, even ideas hateful to the prevailing climate of opinion, have the full protection of the guarantees [of the First Amendment].” quote by William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/553/william-j-brennan-15212_amendments_all-ideas-having-even-the-slightest-rede_3076253.jpg)
![“One of the things that Claire [ McCaskill] and I are trying to do is put systems on campus in place so that a survivor knows who to talk to - that there's somebody who's an expert on their campus that will know all their options from day one and really empower them to make their own decision about…” quote by Kirsten Gillibrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/fab/kirsten-gillibrand-3719_campus_one-of-the-things-that-claire-mccaskill_108667.jpg)
![“I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. [salutes]” quote by Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3d2/bill-hicks-970_america_i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumor_655.jpg)
