On January 31, 2025, the Chicago Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression held The Chicago Principles at Ten Years, an in-person and virtual event celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Chicago Principles.
Over 100+ colleges and universities have adopted the Chicago Principles, a commitment to uphold free inquiry and expression derived from The University of Chicago’s January 2015 Report on the Committee on Freedom of Expression.
The Chicago Principles at Ten Years opened with a Keynote Address from the president of the University of Chicago, Paul Alivisatos. During Alivisatos’ opening remarks, protestors in the crowd threw flyers titled “UChicago. Whose Free Speech?” The flyers highlighted narratives concerning two students disciplined by the UChicago administration for their actions during a “Palestine solidarity protest” in October and a critique of the university’s institutional neutrality given its response to recent pro-Palestine campus protests.
Three panels followed the Keynote Address, The Committee on Freedom of Expression – 10 Years Later, Lunch and Discussion on Emerging Technologies and Free Expression, and Contemporary Challenges and the Future of the Chicago Principles. A key theme of the event was that the central purpose of the Chicago Principles is to prevent the silencing of ideas in public discourse at universities. As noted by the Committee on Freedom of Expression in its January 2015 report, members of the first panel explained that this principle is not absolute – they emphasized that considerations of time, place, and general restrictions ensure the law is upheld and the university’s function remains undisturbed.
“As Robert M. Hutchins observed, without a vibrant commitment to free and open inquiry, a university ceases to be a university. The University of Chicago’s long-standing commitment to this principle lies at the very core of our University’s greatness. That is our inheritance, and it is our promise to the future.” (Source)