As students at Louisiana State University walked to class Tuesday, Gov. Jeff Landry sat in front of a quad at Memorial Hall and signed an executive order designed to protect free speech on college campuses.
Landry–flanked on both sides by members of conservative activist group Turning Point USA– spoke mostly about what he calls “ideological dominance” in higher education.
“What we’ve seen on college campuses around the country is that one voice seems to be quieted while another seems to yell,” he said.
Landry pointed to a list of conservative influencers he said were “canceled” for sharing their views, including Matt Walsh, a conservative commentator who has criticized the transgender community, and Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA. Both pundits' speaking events have sparked protests at college campuses around the country.
Landry said the order, Act 584 , is meant to protect “all viewpoints” and encourage vigorous debate in college classrooms. It requires each public university and college in the state to develop clearer policies regarding freedom of expression and for the Board of Regents to provide “advice and recommendations” for improving those guidelines.
It also requires postsecondary institutions to report incidents when barriers to free speech occur, such as threats, to the Governor’s office and state legislature. The order says such incidents have a “chilling effect” on free discussion and hinder “the pursuit of knowledge.”
Louisiana Board of Regents Chair Misty Cordell spoke at the press conference and vowed to uphold free speech on college campuses.
“We have a lot of bright young minds,” said Cordell, “They all come from their own communities, their own backgrounds, they have their own voice, values, and morals, and things they would like to uphold.“
Landry recently appointed Cordell as chair of the Louisiana Board of Regents, despite her having served on the board for less than a year. The appointment was made possible by a new law that expanded Landry's authority to select the board's leadership. The governor advocated for the law during the previous legislative session
Attorney General Liz Murrill also spoke at the signing. She explained what the order would support and what it would not, and accused the Biden administration of censoring free speech on social media.
“That doesn't mean violence or criminal behavior like what we saw at Columbia University and other locations,” she said, referring to people entering buildings without authorization, the destruction of campus property, and threats against Jewish people. “You'll be held accountable for your actions if you choose to engage in that type of behavior."
Landry has drawn national attention for championing a law that requires the display of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom. When asked if that law, currently under litigation, conflicted with his goal of preventing ideological dominance in education, he responded by calling the Ten Commandments the “foundation of Western Civilization.”
“Denying that denies you the existence of the freedoms that you enjoy today,” he said.
Polling shows Americans view college campuses as more friendly to liberals than conservatives. Yet it's unclear how Landry’s executive order is different from existing laws that protect students' First Amendment rights. A 2018 law already requires schools to submit reports on incidents of suppressed free speech, and other provisions in the law mirror policies passed last year, the Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported.
“We have made it crystal clear to the Board of Regents exactly what we wish them to do,” said Landry. “There will be a clear line so that the field that you want to occupy when it comes to the freedom of speech is crystal clear.”
Landry has signed 140 executive orders since he came to office eight months ago, more than any other governor in a single year since at least 1975, when the current state constitution was ratified.
