Jon Katz

Jon Katz is a scholar with the First Amendment Center who writes regularly on free speech issues. In the following viewpoint, Katz discusses two books that examine censorship and the increasing prevalence of speech codes on college campuses. Katz cites numerous examples of the use of hate speech restrictions to punish politically incorrect speech, and he notes that the courts have struck down these speech codes as unconstitutional. He contends that college campuses with speech codes resemble more the repressive regime of communist China than the freedom-loving United States.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What are the facts behind the “water buffalo case,” as documented by Katz?
2. Who are the heroes in The Shadow University, according to the author?
3. How does Yale University differ from the other universities discussed by Kors...