“This university is a vanguard of freedom of expression,” the vice president said, “and the free exchange of ideas at a time, sadly, when free speech and civility are waning on campuses across America.”
Pence spoke very highly of how opposing views and open discussion are encouraged on campus, even referencing how “every speaker, no matter how unpopular or unfashionable, is afforded the right to air their views in the open for all to hear.”
But then he went on to say this:
“Notre Dame is an exception, an island in a sea of conformity so far spared from the noxious wave that seems to be rushing over much of academia. While this institution has maintained an atmosphere of civility and open debate, far too many campuses across America have become characterized by speech codes, safe zones, tone policing, administration-sanctioned political correctness––all of which amounts to nothing less than suppression of the freedom of speech. These all-too-common practices are destructive of learning and the pursuit of knowledge and they are wholly outside the American tradition.”
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