The University of Wisconsin-Madison has introduced a mandatory free expression training module for incoming students. This new initiative comes as part of the school’s response to the disruptive and criminal actions of some leftist students and faculty members during a 2022 YAF event featuring the Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh.
The event, hosted by Young America’s Foundation and the UW-Madison Young Americans for Freedom chapter, was met by vandalism to campus property and aggressive protests.
In one instance, a student stole and began eating another student’s Bible. Additionally, a former faculty member, known for blogging about sex, openly bragged about tearing down at least 40 posters promoting the event, which had been put up by YAF students.
Student complaints submitted to the university, obtained through an open records request, revealed that some students felt “physically sick” about Walsh’s presence. One even claimed that Walsh’s speech about the inherent differences between men and women constituted a “hate crime.”
Clearly, the new freedom of expression training module is much-needed. The seven-video series covers a number of topics and scenarios, including what the First Amendment is, students’ rights when it comes to protests and activism, talking across differences, and how to maturely engage with campus speakers who have different perspectives.
Conservative Wisconsin legislators negotiated the training module requirement as part of a funding deal reached last year with the university system.
“We appreciate that UW-Madison is taking some necessary first stepts toward creating a campus that tolerates multiple points of view,” remarked Benjamin Rothove of UW-Madison YAF. “We hope that the university follows through with its commitment to free expression.”
YAF is bringing screenings of Matt Walsh’s latest release, “Am I Racist?” to collegetown movie theaters throughout the country! Check out YAF.org/AIR to find a screening near you.
