²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵAPP¹ÙÍø

In an published in today's edition of The Daily Nebraskan, an independent student newspaper at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), graduate student Benjamin Welch writes about the importance of having a diversity of ideas on campus, even when those ideas might offend others. Welch writes:

Regardless, when a truly diverse population exists, as many universities strive for, a person of a particular persuasion or belief system taking offense to an action or speech of another is an inevitable byproduct. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Knowledge and finding oneself is the cornerstone of the college experience, and a facet of that is learning to deal with adversity. The "real world" isn't going to coddle you after graduation, so why expect it at an institution that embodies the free-flow exchange of ideas?

Given his understanding of the value of free expression, Welch is thankful to attend a university that has earned a "green light" rating from ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵAPP¹ÙÍø:

In fact, UNL is one of only 15 public universities nationwide to receive a "green light" rating from FIRE's "Spotlight on Speech Codes 2013." This means that ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵAPP¹ÙÍø has been "unable to find a policy that seriously imperils speech" and that "²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵAPP¹ÙÍø is not currently aware of any serious threats to students' free speech rights in the policies on that campus."

This is good news for free-speech proponents, and drafters of school bylaws and other procedural material should be commended.

We agree.