6PM - 5/12/23 - Kane Hall
Register now!
6PM - 5/12/23 - Kane Hall
A Conference on Freedom of Expression at the University of Washington
Register Now
About
The University of Washington has been ranked the worst public university for free speech by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).
Informed by a survey of more than 44,000 college students across the country, as well as legal analysis done by FIRE itself, the 2022-2023 rankings place the UW 188th out of 203 schools assessed, the lowest rank for any public institution in the country.
Among FIRE’s findings is that only 43% of UW students report that they “have rarely or never self-censored on campus.” Additionally, only 31% say “shouting down a speaker to prevent them from speaking on campus is never acceptable.” These and other findings indicate a critically poor culture of free speech at UW.
These things must change.
Join us for Free Speech Matters, UW's first student-led mini-conference on free speech, academic freedom, and civil discourse starting at 6pm on May 12th in the Walker-Ames Room at Kane Hall.
Featuring a keynote speech by FIRE's Aaron Terr, interactive audience discussions about free speech on campus, faculty voices, and more to be announced soon.
Admission is FREE. A light meal will be provided for attendees. First-come, first-serve. Register now!
Speakers
Pedro Domingos
Pedro Domingos is a leading AI researcher and the author of the worldwide bestseller The Master Algorithm, an introduction to machine learning for a general audience. He is a professor of computer science at the University of Washington. He won the SIGKDD Innovation Award and the IJCAI John McCarthy Award, two of the highest honors in data science and AI, and is a Fellow of AAAS and AAAI. He helped start the fields of statistical relational AI, data stream mining, adversarial learning, machine learning for information integration, and influence maximization in social networks. He has written for the Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, Wired, and others. In addition to all this, he is a staunch advocate for free speech.
Katie Herzog
Katie Herzog is a journalist and critic in the Seattle area. She is a former staff writer at both The Stranger and Grist, and she is the current host of the podcast “Blocked and Reported.”
Aaron Terr
Aaron Terr is the Director of Public Advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). He previously was a member of FIRE's Campus Rights Advocacy team. A native of Long Island, New York, Aaron graduated from Vassar College with a degree in biology in 2007. He went on to attend the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was a member of the Virginia Law Review. After earning his J.D. in 2012, Aaron worked as a judicial clerk and then as a staff attorney at the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. A former volunteer for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, Aaron has a longstanding interest in free speech and civil liberties.
Margaux Granath
Margaux Granath graduated magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota in 2021 with a B.A. in political science. Throughout her undergraduate career, Margaux served in student government and assisted in political science research on civil liberties violations, both roles which have informed her deep passion for free expression. Formerly a FIRE intern, Margaux works with the FIRE Student Network team as a Program Officer. Her work focuses on developing student talent to further protect student rights. In her spare time, Margaux enjoys watching elite gymnastics and playing killer sudoku.