Jaimee Rondeau

I oppose HR19. College students are adults who are fully capable of deciding which ideas and speakers they want to engage with. A core purpose of higher education is to encourage independent thinking, critical analysis, and open inquiry. Mandating that public colleges and universities “invite more conservative speakers” suggests that lawmakers, rather than students and faculty, should determine which viewpoints deserve a platform. That undermines academic freedom and institutional autonomy. This bill also raises an important question: how is “conservative” defined? Political ideology is not a fixed or universally agreed-upon label. Who decides what qualifies as conservative, and by what standard? Without a clear, objective definition, this policy risks becoming arbitrary, politicized, and potentially discriminatory. True viewpoint diversity happens organically when campuses support free speech for all — not when the state pressures institutions to curate programming to meet a political benchmark. Public colleges should remain spaces where ideas compete freely, guided by academic judgment and student interest, not legislative mandates.