It was awesome. Jonathan was great. The formal talk was great; both the informal talk with students preceding it, and the dinner with students afterwards, were terrific. I heard strong positives from talk attendees, and enthusiastic responses from the students in the conversation and at dinner.
Michael P. Harvey, Professor of Business Management, Washington College
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We had wonderful reviews from those in attendance. I told Jonathan I thought he was the best speaker we’ve had in the eight years I’ve been with the Club – and I meant it. Thanks so much for everything.
Laura Edwards, Assistant Director, The Economic Club of Memphis at the University of Memphis
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It is easy to cling to speech restrictions by choosing comfort and conformity over offense and diversity. It allows a society to fortify itself from outside perspectives and subjugate those that are different from the norm. However, this strategy ultimately leaves only space for those in the majority while pushing those in the minority to the fringe.
Jonathan Rauch challenged Princeton students to defy that easy path of 'safe' spaces and instead promote free speech of all types on campus. Citing the importance of free speech in the gay rights movement and for those continually fighting for minority rights today, Rauch urged students to have a “thick skin,” start a dialogue with those they are offended by, and use offensive speech as a way to start a dialog and convince others that the speech was wrong or demeaning. He did not shrink away from the most persuasive arguments against free speech – including the serious harm they can cause to people (examples include the insistence on conversion therapy and increased hate crimes after the election due to campaign rhetoric). Instead, Rauch challenged students to argue against damaging speech, and not fall into the temptation of asking for speech codes, since those can – and have – been used to silence the same minorities that many want to protect today through safe spaces and speech codes. Overall, the event was very engaging, intellectually challenging, and even emotional for those who attended, as everyone discussed important issues of rights, the consequences of speech, and past discrimination.
Sofia Gallo and the Open Campus Coalition, Princeton University
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Everything went well on our end! Jonathan was fantastic! Hopefully it was well worth for him! Thanks again for everything!
Leah Davenport Assistant Director of Events and Operations The C. Boyden Gray Center George Mason University
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Jonathan was wonderful. We were absolutely delighted to have him. I haven’t heard a single negative comment. But it was all extremely positive from my perspective and from the feedback I have received from other members of the Janus Forum. Thank you very much!
Rick Vanden Bergh, Professor & Faculty Director of the Janus Forum, University of Vermont
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Jonathan Rauch’s lecture on free speech is exactly the message that our colleges and universities need to hear today. Contrary to those who would say that free speech is a code word for racism and bigotry, Rauch makes a compelling argument that respect and equality for gays and lesbians goes hand in hand with a strong commitment to letting all sides of our controversies be heard. Highly recommended.
Thomas W. Merrill, Associate Professor of Government, American University
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The event went incredibly well, and Jonathan was outstanding on the panel. His arguments are precise and impacting, yet he presents them in a conversational manner. I will highly recommend him to others who organize campus lectures.
Todd Nesbit, Senior Lecturer for Department of Economics, Ohio State University
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The entire event was a success. Thank you for working with us and helping bring Jonathan Rauch to the UW Madison campus. We received feedback from attendees that the public lecture was valuable.
Kari C. Zarecki Center Administrator Center for the Study of Liberal Democracy University of Wisconsin - Madison
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Jonathan Rauch is one of the leading thinkers of our time and brought it all to fully and deeply engage with our program and our audience. His stature helped us easily fill the room to capacity. Early audience reviews included descriptions like "brilliant," "one of the more courageous commentators out there," and "I don't think I've ever seen such an attentive crowd." If you want to offer up an immersion in cutting-edge thinking before the rest of the world catches on and follows behind - in a presentation that both entertains and challenges - Jon's your guy. That's only if we can't convince him to move to town and join us for everything we ever do.
Liz Joyner, Executive Director, The Village Square
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I have hosted 15 world class scholars and public intellectuals as speakers at CSU Chico over my 16 year career as a professor here. Jonathan Rauch’s visit and presentation were among the very best. He was extremely substantive and engaging, using his own life story to explore the controversial topic of the chilling of free speech on American campuses today. No less importantly, no speaker that I have hosted treated our students more generously or respectfully. Jonathan went out of his way to listen to their voice and engage their concerns.
Alan Gibson, Professor of Political Science, CSU Chico
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