BU "Free Speech Committee" Actually Not Free, Due To 3.4% Tuition Increase

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT—In an effort to “affirm our commitment to freedom of expression on campus,” President Brown has created two new Free Speech Committees; however, he has since clarified in a follow-up email that in keeping with tuition increases, the speech is not actually free, but will be charged according to this year’s 3.4% increase in tuition.“The cost of free speech is priceless, but that doesn’t mean it should be free,” Brown wrote in his second email. “And because it’s part of your invaluable education, it will be subject to our annual, ever-rising, and necessary tuition increases.”This “free speech increase” is also intended to improve BU’s ranking compared to other colleges. “We are already #31 in U.S. News and World Report for Universities with the Best Speech,” wrote Brown. “Increasing the cost of speech from free to several thousand dollars will surely raise our prestige even further.”Beginning in Fall 2019, additional speech may be purchased with Convenience Points. Students are given a generous quota of $12.00 of free speech at the beginning of their freshman year, and may purchase additional speech for 8 cents per word. At press time, President Brown was drafting an email calling for The Daily Free Press to become The Daily $20 Per Copy Press.