By Susan Svrluga, washingtonpost.com, 3-21-19
President Trump signed an executive order Thursday protecting freedom of speech on college campuses, surrounded by student activists who have said conservative views are suppressed at universities.
Trump said he was taking “historic action to defend American students and American values that have been under siege.”
The order does not, on its face, make dramatic changes. But it was welcomed by people who say universities are fostering an unbalanced, liberal indoctrination of students – and condemned by those who say freedom of inquiry is a fundamental tenet of higher education, one the government should not be defining.
More than 100 students joined the president in the East Room for the signing, according to a statement from the White House, along with state legislators, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. The order directs 12 agencies that make federal grants, in coordination with the Office of Management and Budget, to ensure colleges are complying with the law and their own policies to promote free inquiry and debate.
It does not tie student-aid money to the order. » Read More