The State of Free Speech at UC Berkeley

How can UC Berkeley continue to support free speech and academic freedom at a time of unprecedented challenges for all universities? And what is its track record over the last year?

Join us on Tuesday, April 14, from 6:00–7:30 p.m. at the David Brower Center for a timely conversation about the state of free speech at UC Berkeley.

Chris Hoofnagle, Secretary of the Berkeley Initiative for Freedom of Inquiry and Professor of Law in Residence at UC Berkeley, Dr. Ussama Makdisi, Professor of History and Chancellor’s Chair at UC Berkeley, and Ananya Rupanagunta, Editor-in-Chief and President of The Daily Californian, plus additional campus guests will sit down with Berkeleyside's higher education reporter, Felicia Mello, to explore how the campus is navigating these challenges now—and what its recent track record reveals about the future of free expression in higher education.

Among the city of Berkeley’s biggest claims to fame is its role as the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement. That movement involved clashes between Cal students and administrators over the role of political advocacy on campus. Today, in the wake of a wave of pro-Palestinian activism and the Trump administration’s attempts to exert ideological control over universities, the campus often finds itself divided over whether, how and when limits to free speech should apply.

Join us! We want this event to be welcoming and accessible to everyone in our community. That’s why we’re offering ticket options:

• Discounted member tickets
• General admission: For those who are able to support the event at full price
• Free: No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Be part of the conversation shaping what free speech means at UC Berkeley today — and where it goes from here.

We hope to see you there

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