Swarthmore Faculty Sign Open Letter for Freedom of Expression

[Anonymous]

Swarthmore's values seem to be eroding in real time. An institution that once celebrated activism, free inquiry, and dissent is now disciplining students for speech, expanding surveillance, rewriting conduct rules to restrict protest, and creating a climate of fear around political expression.

Faculty are warning that students are being taught one set of principles in the classroom—critical thinking, open debate, intellectual rigor—and another outside it: stay quiet, stay vague, and don't challenge authority. If that's true, Swarthmore isn't just failing its stated values; it's actively betraying them.

The question is simple: when did protecting institutional image become more important than protecting free expression?
https://swarthmorevoices.com/content-1/2026/4/30/the-college-needs-a-reset-a-letter-from-faculty

[Anonymous]

Have you been on Swat’s campus? Only one set of opinions is allowed and those who share it used to verbally harass other students or faculty. It did not make the news because it is not in a major city like Columbia or UCLA.

[Anonymous]

I don't think you know what's been happening at Swarthmore. The same faculty calling for "freedom" have actually been running a campaign of fascism, of insistence on one set of beliefs to be privileged and accepted above all others. The institution finally decided to do something about this and now these same faculty are in an uproar and using this language to confuse the ignorant. Freedom is slavery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore's values seem to be eroding in real time. An institution that once celebrated activism, free inquiry, and dissent is now disciplining students for speech, expanding surveillance, rewriting conduct rules to restrict protest, and creating a climate of fear around political expression.

Faculty are warning that students are being taught one set of principles in the classroom—critical thinking, open debate, intellectual rigor—and another outside it: stay quiet, stay vague, and don't challenge authority. If that's true, Swarthmore isn't just failing its stated values; it's actively betraying them.

The question is simple: when did protecting institutional image become more important than protecting free expression?
https://swarthmorevoices.com/content-1/2026/4/30/the-college-needs-a-reset-a-letter-from-faculty

Thank you for the AI speech

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think you know what's been happening at Swarthmore. The same faculty calling for "freedom" have actually been running a campaign of fascism, of insistence on one set of beliefs to be privileged and accepted above all others. The institution finally decided to do something about this and now these same faculty are in an uproar and using this language to confuse the ignorant. Freedom is slavery.

The faculty are fascists? Can you elaborate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think you know what's been happening at Swarthmore. The same faculty calling for "freedom" have actually been running a campaign of fascism, of insistence on one set of beliefs to be privileged and accepted above all others. The institution finally decided to do something about this and now these same faculty are in an uproar and using this language to confuse the ignorant. Freedom is slavery.

You know more that Swarthmore’s own faculty because…? Most of this is about student conduct changes forced by the admin team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore's values seem to be eroding in real time. An institution that once celebrated activism, free inquiry, and dissent is now disciplining students for speech, expanding surveillance, rewriting conduct rules to restrict protest, and creating a climate of fear around political expression.

Faculty are warning that students are being taught one set of principles in the classroom—critical thinking, open debate, intellectual rigor—and another outside it: stay quiet, stay vague, and don't challenge authority. If that's true, Swarthmore isn't just failing its stated values; it's actively betraying them.

The question is simple: when did protecting institutional image become more important than protecting free expression?
https://swarthmorevoices.com/content-1/2026/4/30/the-college-needs-a-reset-a-letter-from-faculty

It started in the 1990s and reached its peak in 2020-2023.

[Anonymous]

I think some of the behaviors be a few who went beyond the reasonable acceptable behavior last year (or two) makes this a very smart move.
Of course you can protest, but you can’t block other students from campus locations or resources.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think some of the behaviors be a few who went beyond the reasonable acceptable behavior last year (or two) makes this a very smart move.
Of course you can protest, but you can’t block other students from campus locations or resources.

Yes, applications at Swarthmore are down over 10% from the high school class of 2022. People hesitate to apply to an expensive school where they’ll have to circumvent political obstacles to get an education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore's values seem to be eroding in real time. An institution that once celebrated activism, free inquiry, and dissent is now disciplining students for speech, expanding surveillance, rewriting conduct rules to restrict protest, and creating a climate of fear around political expression.

Faculty are warning that students are being taught one set of principles in the classroom—critical thinking, open debate, intellectual rigor—and another outside it: stay quiet, stay vague, and don't challenge authority. If that's true, Swarthmore isn't just failing its stated values; it's actively betraying them.

The question is simple: when did protecting institutional image become more important than protecting free expression?
https://swarthmorevoices.com/content-1/2026/4/30/the-college-needs-a-reset-a-letter-from-faculty

The universities have rapidly allowed far left thought police to pervade ever facet of education. It seems to have passed the point of no return from 2018 to 2025.

I wish our kids could experience 1990s college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore's values seem to be eroding in real time. An institution that once celebrated activism, free inquiry, and dissent is now disciplining students for speech, expanding surveillance, rewriting conduct rules to restrict protest, and creating a climate of fear around political expression.

Faculty are warning that students are being taught one set of principles in the classroom—critical thinking, open debate, intellectual rigor—and another outside it: stay quiet, stay vague, and don't challenge authority. If that's true, Swarthmore isn't just failing its stated values; it's actively betraying them.

The question is simple: when did protecting institutional image become more important than protecting free expression?
https://swarthmorevoices.com/content-1/2026/4/30/the-college-needs-a-reset-a-letter-from-faculty

The universities have rapidly allowed far left thought police to pervade ever facet of education. It seems to have passed the point of no return from 2018 to 2025.

I wish our kids could experience 1990s college.

I don’t. The world is progressing. Catch up or fall behind.

[Anonymous]

I am not able to follow this thread. What is going on?

[Anonymous]

I’ll summarize. A handful of far-left faculty wrote a letter bemoaning the fact that student pro-Palestinian activists who have defaced buildings and disrupted campus operations are being held accountable for their actions.

The writer is saying this is because Swat doesn’t believe in free speech. It’s just more Hamas supporting propaganda. Best to ignore. Swat is navigating a difficult situation with generally good judgement. My kid is there and we read the memos and support the administration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ll summarize. A handful of far-left faculty wrote a letter bemoaning the fact that student pro-Palestinian activists who have defaced buildings and disrupted campus operations are being held accountable for their actions.

The writer is saying this is because Swat doesn’t believe in free speech. It’s just more Hamas supporting propaganda. Best to ignore. Swat is navigating a difficult situation with generally good judgement. My kid is there and we read the memos and support the administration.

This, and ditto.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ll summarize. A handful of far-left faculty wrote a letter bemoaning the fact that student pro-Palestinian activists who have defaced buildings and disrupted campus operations are being held accountable for their actions.

The writer is saying this is because Swat doesn’t believe in free speech. It’s just more Hamas supporting propaganda. Best to ignore. Swat is navigating a difficult situation with generally good judgement. My kid is there and we read the memos and support the administration.

Frankly, is there any other kind at Swarthmore?