In celebration of the 60th anniversary of Berkeley's historic Free Speech Movement (FSM), renowned legal scholars Nadine Strossen, former ACLU president and John Marshall Harlann II Professor of Law at New York Law School and Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law at Berkeley Law School, will explore its pivotal role in advancing civil rights and political change in America. They will discuss how attitudes toward free speech have shifted over the years on college campuses, and address contemporary free speech challenges facing universities today, such as cancel culture, the heckler’s veto, compelled speech, and institutional neutrality. Together, they will consider whether the ongoing free speech debate is moving us toward or away from social progress and what steps universities can take to avoid the free speech controversies on campuses last year.

The event will begin with a screening of a short documentary, produced by American Focus and FIRE, on Berkeley’s Free Speech Movement, emphasizing the connection between free speech and civil rights.

When: Wednesday, September 11 at 4:00 PM PT

Where: Chevron Auditorium, International House at University of California, Berkeley