Prof. Giordano publishes new op-ed, says Stanford Law students must also be held accountable

Campus Reform Higher Education Fellow Nicholas Giordano argues that Stanford University’s decision to put the Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) on leave after a free speech incident is laudable for insufficiency. 

Earlier this month, DEI Dean Tirien Steinbach publicly chastised and kicked out a guest speaker for the Stanford Law School Federalist Society, US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Kyle Duncan.

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Although addressing Steinbach’s actions is important, Giordano contends that the students who called upon the dean to act should also be criticized.

“By allowing students to evade accountability for their own misconduct,” Giordano reasons, “Stanford condones the self-righteous student mobs asserting that only their viewpoints are valid.”

In Giordano’s estimation, any student who is unwilling or incapable of being civil towards those with whom they fundamentally disagree ought not to be pursuing higher education.

Giordano cites that only 12% of schools sampled by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) in 2022 did “not seriously imperil free expression,” as Campus Reform previously reported.

Data also suggests that anti-American sentiment has increased concurrently with increasing viewpoint censorship.

Giordano cites that more than 60% of Americans favor restrictions on speech and 51% advocate for re-writing the First Amendment. Additionally, 54% of Americans aged 21-38 think there should be jail time for hate speech.

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In response, “colleges must adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards those who undermine free speech and critical thinking. It is imperative that these institutions take a proactive and comprehensive approach to confront this problem directly.”

Treating those with different perspectives respectfully is “the standard educators like me and Dean Steinbach must set for students,” Giordano argues.

For the academy to be restored as a bastion of free inquiry, Giordano notes “it is essential to establish accountability and take decisive action to address this issue,” including with the students themselves.