We started off this semester with the goal of encouraging greater participation in campus-wide discourse, and our first two forum pages were centered around free speech on campus —— specifically, on its role in political debates.

Through these past couple of months, it has become clear that this is still an issue that our readers care deeply about. So, as we begin the second half of the semester, we believe it is important to re-establish our commitment to fostering conversations in which everyone is welcome to join.

Today’s forum highlights responses to Andrew Herrera and Sophia Garcia’s columns from earlier this semester. Sociology junior Monique Salah argues that a zero-sum mindset of speech prevents us from having productive discussions. Connor Ellington, a UT Law student, argues that the solutions Herrera previously proposed don’t address the root of the problems associated with free speech.

As always, if you have thoughts about this topic or any other, please feel free to reach out to us at [email protected].