Long List Of Colleges Receive Anti-Free Speech AwardBy Joseph Jankowski Typically, presidents, branches of government and public school administrators have beenthe recipients of the Jefferson Muzzles for their outrageous efforts to censor. But the Thomas Jefferson Center considers the efforts to shut down free expression so fierce on American college campuses that they dividedthe Muzzles into various categories: censorship of students, censorship by students, efforts to limit press access on campus,threats to academic freedom,and censorshipof outside speakers. Never in our 25 years of awarding the Jefferson Muzzles have we observed such an alarming concentration of anti-speech activity as we saw last year on college campuses across the country, says a statementfrom the center that announced the winners. Included on the list of muzzle recipients is UCLA, Princeton, University of Missouri, Harvard, Duke, and Yale. This is the 25thedition of the awards that are usually granted around the April 13th birthday of Thomas Jefferson. When we have a large selection of nominations, I suppose its a good thing for the program, but its a sad commentary on the state of free speech in our country today, Josh Wheeler, director of the Thomas Jefferson Center toldThe Associated Press in an interview.Frankly we are as puzzled as anybody as to the reasons why there is this wave of anti-speech activity on college campuses. The University of Missouri made the cut for a Muzzle after students prevented a reporter from covering a protest on its campus in November. At that same protest, a now fired professor was caught on tape calling for some muscle to remove a student photographer from a safe space. The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression also took to task those at Yale who issued an advisory to students about halloween costumes that could be offensive. According to the Center,First Amendment principles have given way to identity politics, trigger warnings, and so-called safe spaces, and the Free Speech Movement has, at many colleges, become the Anti-Speech Movement. Among other Muzzle winners and the offenses the center cited: In the Centers statement, it was noted thatseveral schools actively pushed back against the tide of anti-speech sentiment in 2015. The statement cited theUniversity of Chicago, which issued a free speech policy statement guaranteeing all members of the University community the broadest possible latitude to speak, write, listen, challenge, and learn. Its only free speech if the liberals okay it nowadays. Always be a light that is .shininginthedark. Sad to see so many bright minds being caged into belief systems through political correctness and inclusiveness. 