But this is mistaken and dangerous. If we want to advance the sum of human knowledge, people need to be free to speak their minds as often as possible. That’s especially true in academia, where the explicit mission is expanding that knowledge. And it is double-extra-true at a publicly funded university, because we should be frankly terrified of any effort to get government officials involved in policing speech.

Conservatives, even more than other Americans, should be on Jarrar’s side. Free speech always protects the minority, and that’s what they are on campus. If we weaken the principles that protect academics who speak their minds, it is conservatives who will be most at risk. It’s no accident, after all, that academia’s sprinkling of right-leaning professors often “come out” only after they’ve gotten tenure. If we undermine the principle that tenured professors can say any damn thing they want on their private time, we will hand the ideological thought police just the weapon they need to banish conservative “wrongthink” from campus.