Coming off an academic year when universities faced executive pressure over specific instruction and practices, the general demeanor was level-headed and inquisitive at a University of Colorado Colorado Springs conference on civic discourse.

As its name implies, “civic discourse” refers to “practices for American citizenship, from engaging in difficult discussions and open debate, to understanding the rights and responsibilities inherent to the task of self-government.”

The recent two-day event hosted by the UCCS Center for the Study of Government and the individual featured speakers from Princeton, Arizona State and Baylor University, along with the universities of Wyoming and Pennsylvania to discuss topics ranging from freedom of speech to academic freedom to the First Amendment.

The agenda kicked off with a discussion by keynote speakers Cornel West from the Union Theological Seminary and Robert George from Princeton University.

West, an honorary chair of the Democratic Socialists of America and an independent presidential candidate in the 2024 election, and George, an influential conservative Catholic intellectual and decorated jurisprudence professor, have developed a deep friendship over the years despite their strikingly different beliefs.

“I’ve learned so much from this brother, even when he’s wrong,” George said jokingly.

CSGI Director Steven Pittz said the conference was developed after noticing an “abysmal” decline in civic engagement and understanding across his campus and other universities that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is from a U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Foundation) study, so it’s pretty neutral: A third of respondents didn’t know that there are three branches of government,” he said. “And something like only 30% of people ages 22-39 who had been through college said they would fight for their country. Seventy percent said no.”

As far as civics is concerned, he added that bringing in a wide array of speakers to the conference, like West and George, was to establish a tone that wasn’t bipartisan, but rather pre-partisan.

“These are things that are more basic than political ideology or political partisanship,” he said. “It’s really not a right or left thing. It’s, ‘Are we citizens of a self-governing republic or not?’”

‘Viewpoints without the ideologies’

Despite the increased temperature on college campuses in recent years, students and faculty agree that UCCS stands out as a unique example of where civic discourse has remained strong, both in and outside its classrooms.

Jeffrey Scholes, UCCS philosophy professor, has taught a course on the intersection of religion and U.S. politics during the past three presidential election years, which he admitted are “two of the most contentious things” to discuss, and has witnessed numerous spirited discussions.

Despite the potential for hostile scenarios, he said that discussions have remained civil over the past 18 years he’s taught there, with few cases requiring his intervention.

As to why, he speculated that El Paso County’s largely conservative population, UCCS’s older average student age and many students also working jobs lends it to both a wider array of perspectives when compared to other universities.

“There’s a little more life experience, I think, with more of our students than you would find at, say, CU Boulder,” he said. “And I think, because of that, there’s just a little more of a settled opinion on things and a little more maturity as to how you state your opinion.”

In the few instances where a point of view was shut down, Scholes explained that this was simply due to being factually untrue. Examples of this have included flat-Earth theories and the notion that former President Barack Obama is a practicing Muslim.

Elsewhere on campus, Scholes said that students have held demonstrations for global events like the Israel-Gaza War, though not as impassioned or sustained as those on other campuses, including Colorado College.

When UCCS has welcomed controversial speakers like far-right political commentator Milo Yiannopoulos and Focus on the Family President Jim Daly, he said that peaceful protests were held by students outside the venues, but that discussions inside remained civil and engaging.

However, when speakers invited to UCCS’ Center of Evangelism hoped to give a sermon, they were denied. Scholes said this was because, like in the classroom, the center intend to “bring in the viewpoints without the ideologies.”

Funding vs. academic freedom?

The conference also came at a time when universities face increased scrutiny over what is taught and discussed on their campuses. Harvard University is in the midst of a legal battle with the Trump administration over the freezing of over $2 billion in federal funding because of allegedly permitting antisemitism and promoting leftist ideologies over free speech.

Other prominent schools like Columbia University and Northwestern University have come under fire from the administration over similar concerns of what it perceives to be antisemitic demonstrations protesting the Israel-Gaza War.

Incoming junior Ava Knox said that while discourse on campus is “very healthy,” some students have expressed hesitancy to weigh in on particular issues because of the sensitive nature of these issues and particular student populations affected.

“On campus, things feel a little charged. And I think that reflects the entire country,” she said. “People know something is going on, but not a lot are super-invested. Some also feel intimidated by these topics where emotions are high and they feel like they don’t have all the information.”

Also a reporter for the school newspaper, Knox said that multiple graduate students have had their research impacted by the frozen funding, with cuts ranging from administrative costs to equipment purchases for research.

She noted that, since the focus of these cuts has largely been toward efforts associated with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), some students and instructors feel apprehensive going forward.

“These cuts have been making it difficult for researchers to seek out grants,” she said. “And students also feel nervous about researching certain topics that are related to DEI or are DEI-adjacent, despite still making an impact in their field or the world today.”

No professors’ syllabi altered

Compounding the lost federal dollars are ongoing concerns with declining enrollment and state funding for universities like UCCS, which has led to increased administrative oversight of faculty views expressed on and off campus, Scholes said.

With that said, he added that no professors’ syllabi got altered following this year’s executive actions, unlike the neighboring Air Force Academy, which dropped its “Diversity and Inclusion Studies” minor from its website in January.

On June 16, a federal judge ruled that it was illegal for the Trump administration to abruptly cancel hundreds of NIH grants and that doing so didn’t follow long-held government rules and standards.

While Pittz acknowledged that a civics grant from the U.S. Department of Defense was lost this past year and that cuts may continue to impact research, he said he doesn’t see students and faculty self-censoring in the years ahead.

Rather, he anticipates more impassioned demonstrations and discourse both to challenge current issues and to justify universities’ roles in society.

“What they should do is explain to people ‘The (Trump) administration is wrong for these reasons. This is what we’re doing for the public and we’re essential for all that,’” he said. “That’s what I think should happen. We’ll see if it does.”

Pittz said this year’s conference was well-received by those who attended. Among those who came away impressed from the conference was Nadine Strossen, the first female president of the American Civil Liberties Union, who called it “one of the best events she’s ever been to.”

“We’ve already been asked to do this again by people in high places. So, I think it’s likely,” Pittz said.