American Majority Trained College Students are Fighting for Free Speech

It seems everyday we see news of free speech being restricted on college campuses across the country. So what exactly are conservatives doing to fight back? At the University of Chicago, Matthew Foldi is taking the lead to stand up for free speech and he’s helping other students across the country.

Matthew’s leadership can be seen across the clubs he heads on campus and through being the Ward Committeeman of Chicago’s Fifth Ward. Matthew considers himself and his classmates lucky to be at a university that fosters debate and intellectual diversity, saying, “Our administration is known throughout the country for its staunch commitment to free speech, which is a breathe of fresh air compared to many schools around the country.” This past April he was able to host a conference on his campus on the topic of free expression, which brought together students from 14 universities. They also created a petition in support of free expression. The petition, in part, stands on the belief that, “We, the undersigned, stand united in our shared conviction that free expression is critical to our society, in spite of our differing backgrounds, perspectives, and ideologies.”

At the University of Chicago,  Matthew and his conservative peers have been able to make strides on campus. This year he has worked with the administration to help other schools adopt their own version of the “Chicago Principles.” His campus groups have worked to talk with students of opposing ideologies instead of “at” them including having an “Ask Me Anything” for students to have real discussions about conservatism. Matthew has helped to get speakers of all ideologies to speak on campus and to groups of which he is apart. These speakers include a Black Lives Matter leader and a former Chief of Staff to Vice President Biden.

Matthew’s campus involvement has also been bolstered by his blog, “An Elephant in the Woods,” in which he covers news not only from campus events he has attended, but where liberal bias has been shown on campus throughout the country. He speaks about events he plans to attend, including one on Northwestern’s campus where protesters have threatened to stop the event through less than decent measures (NSFW). Then lots of his content on college campuses come down to First Amendment rights, to which he says, “I think it is also the responsibility of everyone who supports free speech–conservatives or liberals–to also laud schools and individuals when they do important work, because it is important for them to realize that, outside the university bubble, their actions are almost universally approved of.” Matthew has done this through writing positively about UVA’s president who refused to stop quoting Thomas Jefferson and Kent State University’s refusal to remove a mural featuring Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. Looking at the issue of campus free speech Matthew notes, “There’s a reason that countless publications exist that are solely dedicated to chronicling what we see on campus: there is a new story every minute that we need to make sure gets the attention it deserves, for better or for worse.”

Throughout this past year Matthew has been able to attend American Majority events on campus including the Chicago Campaign-In-A-Day, two sessions where he brought in American Majority to speak to his campus group, and he was able to sit in on several classes led by the American Majority National Executive Director, Matt Batzel, on Winning Issue Campaigns. His takeaway from these events has been, “I’ve learned a lot about the importance of what American Majority does, from candidate specific trainings to grassroots education and activism.”

During the rest of his time at the University of Chicago, Matthew will continue to make a difference through having conversations with those with opposing views and by championing the freedom of speech on college campuses across the nation.