"Morning Joe" Spills The Beans About Self-Censorship on Campus

"Cancel culture" in academia is intimidating and silencing too many college students

The University of Virginia earned a mention from MSNBC show host Joe Scarborough during the network’s election coverage — but for all the wrong reasons. His aside cast light on the problem of student self-censorship, which exists at almost every American college or university, according to survey results, not just UVA.

"You know, my daughter at University of Virginia, she's afraid to raise her hand in class cause if she says something that's politically incorrect, she will immediately be canceled,” said Scarborough. “She will be shunned from class. She will be destroyed in social media . So they just sit in class quiet."

We feel your pain, “Morning Joe,” and empathize with your daughter’s dilemma. She’s far from alone in fearing that speaking freely on campus will get you attacked, shunned, or even “canceled.”

No student should feel this way, whether she’s on the right, left, or somewhere in between and still figuring it out. Maybe something all sides can agree on, and unify around, is that we need to make universities “safe spaces” for unfettered free expression again.

That's what AFSA alumni fervently believe and are fighting for. Learn more about the movement, and how you can participate, by visiting our website at alumnifreespeechalliance.org. AFSA’s affiliate group at UVA is The Jefferson Council.