ABSTRACT
This chapter briefs the value of free inquiry, and provides examples of the oppressive powers in the United States (US): ideology, state, and professional associations. It presents recommendations for proactive reform. Speech codes, censorship zones, and disinvitations of campus speakers are pervasive in US higher education and are commonly decried in US media. University administrators and academic authorities have their own interests at stake and they, too, have been significant censors of freedom in the US academy. To avoid federal investigation and punishment, universities err on the side of censorship rather than free speech. Since occupational licensing is enforced by the government, professional associations that restrict speech as a condition of licensure effectively employ the government's power to censor. The more colleges and universities function like a constitutional republic, the more likely they are to preserve free and open inquiry.
