Law students eager to fight corrosive campus 'cancel culture' spreading nationwide

By Fox News · Fox News

The Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention kicks off this week in Washington, D.C., where this year's theme, "New Frontiers," espouses everything from technological advances and the rise of AI to young people at the forefront of the conservative legal movement — hoping to underscore the importance of open debate, free speech and earnest engagement across the political aisle. The event will spotlight law students from universities across the country, who are standing up for free speech and viewpoint diversity amid what they say is a rise in "cancel culture," censorship issues and incidents of campus unrest that have prompted a crackdown on event speakers, or led to ostracization by peers or professors. The students, who head up their local Federalist Society chapters at law schools across the U.S., face very different obstacles in advocating for free speech and open debate, though some more subtle than others. As the next generation of lawyers prepares to join hundreds of fellow law students, future peers, and judges in D.C. for Thursday’s conference, each told Fox News Digital that they see the same challenge ahead for young conservatives: not just defending free speech, but redefining it — in an academic environment they say too often punishes dissent instead of encouraging open discussion. CONTINUED COURT FIGHTS COULD PUT HARVARD IN UNWINNABLE POSITION VS TRUMP Each of the students cited different attempts to intimidate speech or detract from attempts to engage with others in good faith that they’ve encountered — part of a broader pattern playing out at campuses nationwide. Last month, administrators for New York University Law School canceled a pro-Israel legal scholar, Ilya Shapiro, from speaking at an event hosted by the Federalist Society chapter on Oct. 7. Administrators had originally suggested that the group postpone the event date, citing concerns of protest and anticipated unrest. The students resisted and insisted on keeping the date, saying i…