Attend Discussion on Cancel Culture and the Conformity Gauntlet in Higher Education

On Wednesday, February 19, 2025, at 6 PM in the Wilburn Auditorium, Pepperdine's School of Public Policy is excited to host attorney, New York Times best-selling author, and the president and chief executive officer of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) Greg Lukianoff for the 2025 Augustus and Patricia Tagliaferri Dean’s Distinguished Lecture.

Threats to free speech and academic freedom and conformist pressures in higher education harm not only education but also our democracy. With so many of our next generation of policy and business leaders graduating from the nation's colleges and universities, their ability to build relationships with those with whom they may disagree is seriously hampered if they experience ideological monocultures in high school and higher education. Of course, this isn't just about learning "how the other side thinks," it's also about developing the skills and perspective to think critically about one's own beliefs. This requires not only stated commitments to free inquiry, but also a culture of welcoming "viewpoint diversity," both inside and outside of the classroom.

In this lecture, Lukianoff, one of America's foremost authorities on campus speech and free expression, will explore how American academia went from a place of liberal and civil discourse to one where both students and faculty feel that they have to "walk on eggshells" when discussing sensitive issues in politics and culture.

For more information and to register, visit the School of Public Policy event page.