Columbia Student Senate Committee Votes ‘Yea’ on Free Speech

According to an article in the Columbia Spectator, the University Senate’s student affairs committee unanimously approved a “Resolution on Free Speech at Columbia University” on Sunday. The Spectator quotes the resolution as reading, in part:

[T]he Student Body of Columbia University has a right to invite speakers with varied points of view to campus, and it is unacceptable within our community, to take away someone else’s right to express their opinions and viewpoints…The Student Affairs Caucus stands behind the principles of free speech on campus, and demands that the Columbia University Community stand firm in our commitment to allow all views to be heard.

While the full University Senate will not vote on this until October 27, this is excellent news, as the Spectator reports that if it is passed, the resolution will become official university policy. Columbia is currently a “red light” school on FIRE’s Spotlight: The Campus Freedom Resource, and—President Bollinger’s statements lauding free speech notwithstanding—its policies significantly restrict freedom of speech. It’s worth noting, then, that at Columbia, as usual, it seems that students are leading the way towards liberty on campus.