Christina Bohannan
Guest Columnist
As a law professor, I am a strong defender of free speech. Defending free speech as a constitutional principle means defending the right of people to speak even when I disagree with their message.
As a Democratic State Representative from Iowa City, I have heard a lot, recently, about how Iowa Republicans believe they are victims of First Amendment violations against conservative speech. The Iowa House Government Oversight Committee held hearings to review complaints that the Regents' universities infringed on conservative students’ free speech rights. In the University of Iowa case, the College of Dentistry Dean admitted that the college was wrong to schedule an inquiry for a student who criticized the college’s statement opposing an Executive Order issued by then-President Donald Trump. Republican lawmakers accused the universities of “hypocrisy” and said that it is a university’s job to educate, not “indoctrinate.”