Northwestern U. Student Government Refuses to Adopt Free Speech Bill

Demand Democracy free speech protest
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The student government at Northwestern University rejected a bill that would have reaffirmed campus speech protections. The bill was written in response to an event on campus featuring former Attorney General Jeff Sessions that was derailed by student protesters.

According to a report by the College Fix, the student government at Northwestern University is pushing back against those want want to defend free speech on campus.

Northwestern student Zach Kessel brought the resolution before the student government in the hopes it would serve as a reminder of the important role that free and open inquiry plays in higher education. However, he was surprised when student senators began criticizing the resolutions. Ultimately, the senators decided to “table” the resolution, meaning that they would not put it up for a vote.

Kessel said he doesn’t know which senators voted to table the resolution. “[P]retty much everyone in the room had only negative things to say” – even those who voted against tabling – “so they all blended together in my mind,” he said. But he knows one of the senators who abstained, Max Emery, who has said that neither he nor other senators wanted to talk about the vote.

Breitbart News reported in November that editors of Northwestern University newspaper had apologized over their decision to cover the demonstrations against Sessions. The newspaper was mocked by the Northwestern community over its decision to apologize for reporting on the protests.

Breitbart News reported in December that Northwestern University had fined the students that disrupted the Sessions event. Several students were fined $125 for their role in the protest. Some protesters even pushed and kicked police officers as they were removed from the venue.

Stay tuned to Breitbart News for more updates on this story.

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