Academic year kicks off with annual Reflections event

Nadine Strossen, free-speech champion and author of 'Hate,' dispels myths about free speech

Nadine Strossen, author of the Common Reading Program selection “Hate: Why We Should Resist It with Free Speech, Not Censorship,” will deliver the keynote address at “Reflections: Unity, Social Justice, and Peace,” an annual event celebrating the start of the academic year at Washington University in St. Louis.

The event, which also is the start of the Assembly Series fall lineup, begins at 4 p.m. Monday, Aug. 26, in Graham Chapel.

Strossen is professor of law at New York Law School and served as the first woman national president of the American Civil Liberties Union. Her book addresses common misperceptions about so-called hate speech and explores how free speech promotes democracy, equality and societal harmony.

After her address, Chancellor Andrew D. Martin will lead a discussion with Strossen about free speech on college campuses and how to promote equality through vigorous counterspeech and activism.

The event will be followed by a reception and book signing in Anheuser-Busch Hall’s Crowder Courtyard. Reflections is sponsored by the Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, the School of Law and the First Year Center’s Common Reading Program.

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